Maersk, a major container shipping company, announced that severe weather, specifically heavy storms and snowfall, is causing significant disruption to its cargo operations across a large area of Europe.
The impact is being felt across south-west and western Europe, affecting the seamless flow of goods, according to a Reuters report.
Furthermore, the adverse weather conditions are also complicating deliveries to and from the northern regions of the continent.
This disruption highlights the vulnerability of global supply chains to extreme weather events, leading to potential delays and logistical challenges for businesses relying on Maersk’s services.
Disruptions in Southern Europe
Across Southern Europe, a series of intense weather events has led to widespread disruption and emergency measures.
On Wednesday, countries on the Iberian Peninsula, notably Portugal and Spain, found themselves under the threat of severe weather, prompting official warnings and cautionary advice for residents and travelers.
This followed a significant weather crisis in Italy, where the repercussions of a violent storm were still being intensely managed.
The Italian government, reacting to the devastation that occurred last week, formally declared a state of emergency on Monday for its battered southern regions.
This severe weather event had been characterised by a tempestuous storm that unleashed torrential rain and powerful winds, resulting in a damaging surge that pushed significant volumes of water inland, causing extensive flooding, property damage, and disrupting essential services across the affected territories.
The state of emergency declaration is a critical step, enabling the activation of necessary funds and resources for immediate relief efforts, cleanup, and the long-term reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure in the storm-hit areas.
Operations at terminals hit
Operations have ceased at terminals in the western Mediterranean, according to Maersk, with no available timeline for when they will resume.
“The severe conditions are causing significant industry-wide disruptions with vessels sheltering and terminals having to stop operations or working with reduced productivity,” Maersk was quoted as saying in the Reuters report.
This situation is affecting the entire industry, and due to the severity and uncertainty of the conditions, we expect delays and closures to continue to impact vessels and terminals across the board.
In a recent maritime incident, rival shipping conglomerate CMA CGM reported a significant loss of cargo containers at sea.
The company confirmed last week that one of its vessels encountered unexpectedly severe weather conditions while operating off the coast of Malta.
The powerful storm resulted in the loss of 58 containers overboard.
Furthermore, CMA CGM noted that the intense weather system also inflicted damage on additional containers that remained secured on the vessel’s deck, although the exact number and extent of this secondary damage were not specified in the initial report.
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