Middle East shipping halt strands export containers at Pakistani ports

Pakistan’s export sector is facing serious disruption after shipping lines suspended vessel movements to the Middle East, leaving hundreds of export containers stranded at local ports, business leaders said on Saturday.

Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, Senior Vice President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of BMP-Progressive, said the sudden halt in vessel operations had brought export logistics to a standstill and exposed exporters to significant financial losses.

He said exporters had already transported consignments to ports in line with shipment schedules, but with vessels no longer calling, terminal operators were now asking them to take the containers back.

Magoon said returning containers to factories and then moving them again to ports at a later stage would impose massive additional costs that many exporters would be unable to absorb.

He urged the government to immediately announce a minimum 30-day special relief window at all ports and fully waive demurrage and detention charges in light of the extraordinary situation.

Such measures, he said, were necessary to prevent exporters from suffering crippling losses.