EMEA News
US-EU Relations with Russia Over Crimea Worries Maersk, Other Danish Firms
Danish shipowners and other maritime companies are concerned about possible backlash from Russia after the U.S. and European Union (EU) passed sanctions against the nation over the conflict in Crimea, ShippingWatch reports.
Shipowners in Denmark get 3 percent of their revenue from Russia and up to 5 percent from the region, said Jan Fritz Hansen, vice president of the Danish Shipowners' Association (DSA).
"Right now we're fortunately quite far away from the point where carriers are seriously hit, but there is a lot of focus on this and we're in close talks with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he said.
Hansen said carriers including A.P. Moeller-Maersk (Maersk), Unifeeder, and DFDS operate frequently in the Russian region and have investments in ports and terminals there, but he said the Western sanctions against Russia are generally considered fairly mild and will probably not have a significant impact on the carriers.
Maersk in particular has strong ties to Russia, with a stake in the nation's largest port group, Global Ports, and plans to grow its business in Russia, ShippingWatch reports in a separate story.
"We are of course, like everyone else, following the developments in the relationship between Russia and the EU with concerns, but our investments and businesses in Russia will continue unchanged in accordance with entered agreements," said Maersk spokesman Anders Würtzen.
Russian authorities have referred to Maersk as a "strategic investor," and President Vladimir Putin visited the company's headquarters on an official state visit to Denmark in 2011.
