Reduction of Hapag-Lloyd's Activities in Iran

Hapag-Lloyd, the fifth largest container shipping company in the world, announced that it is reducing its services to Iran due to U.S. sanctions. The German company issued a statement on Monday, June 11, stating that goods listed in U.S. sanctions will not be shipped to Iran. Hapag-Lloyd claims it has been using its partners to transport shipments belonging to Iran and has not provided direct services to Iran. The company told Reuters that 'one of these two services (loading from Iran and delivering cargo to Iran) has been suspended, and the other is under review.' Hapag-Lloyd also stated that it is waiting to see which activities related to Iran are not subject to U.S. sanctions. Last month, MSC, the second largest container shipping company in the world, also announced that it would no longer register new orders from Iran, but would continue to ship some items, such as food, to Iran until the sanctions return. Maersk, the largest container shipping company, has also stated that it is leaving Iran. Like Maersk and MSC, Hapag-Lloyd provides services to Iran indirectly through the Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai. Following the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, secondary sanctions against Iran will be implemented in 90 and 180-day intervals, and Washington has asked international companies to cease cooperation with Iran. In recent days and weeks, major companies such as Total, Maersk, Peugeot, General Electric, Honeywell, Boeing, Lukoil, Reliance, Daewoo Corporation, and Siemens have announced they are halting cooperation with Iran due to fears of sanctions.