Maersk announces its inability to transport cargo to and from Qatar

Maersk, the world's largest container shipping company, confirmed yesterday that it could no longer transport goods to and from Qatar after Arab countries imposed restrictions on trade with the Gulf state.

Maersk said in a statement yesterday that the ban on shipping cargo from Jebel Ali Port to Qatar, which relies on imports by sea and land to meet its needs, means that it is unable to transport any cargo. "We have an assurance that we will not be able to transport Qatar's cargo to and from Jebel Ali," a company spokesman said.

"We expect disruption of our services to Qatar. The situation could change quickly, "he said, adding that Maersk would inform customers of alternative options as soon as possible.

.. and restrictions on loading ore

Standard & Poor's Global Plats said yesterday it would not automatically include crude from Qatar as part of the Middle East standard after Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries cut ties with Doha.

Any disruption of LNG exports from Qatar, one of the world's top players, could affect prices, but there is no sign yet.

Shaheen ore from Qatar is usually loaded onto giant tankers carrying other Gulf ores, which means that the flexibility of the movement is critical to transporting oil out of the region.

Standard and Poor's Global Plats said in a note to customers that "it is usual in the Gulf to load the giant oil tankers with a mix of oil ores from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Oman."

"Therefore, the restrictions on ships bound for Qatar and the accompanying fog may affect the intrinsic value of loading crude from Qatar, including shahin," she said.

The dealings, applications and offers of the Qatari Shahin medium sulfur are listed in the Platts valuation of Dubai Standard, which is the basis of the vast majority of oil trading in Asia, since January 2016.

The Standard Dubai Standard is supported by the raw materials of Dubai, Oman, Marban and Zakum Al-Alawi in Abu Dhabi, as well as Al-Shaheen crude.

The company said in an e-mail statement that the loading of the Qatari Shaheen crude may not be nominated in the process of evaluating the Platts Dubai crude prices without the consent of the buyer and seller. "The performance of the Shahin has been good since it was listed in the Dubai Basket in January 2016 as a crude delivery. This review is to ensure that Dubai Standard Standard will not be affected by the current mistrust surrounding Qatar's relations with its Gulf neighbors. "

Platts said buyers and sellers could agree to switch shahine shipments, but sellers should not.

Sellers in the Platts Trading Window were previously allowed to deliver any of the five raw materials that constitute the standard Dubai standard without the buyers' consent.

The company, a unit of Standard & Poor's Global, issues a number of benchmark prices for the crude oil market, including Brent crude.