Currently, there has been a halt to shipping to Russian and Ukrainian ports as the conflict continues to remain dangerous. In addition, all cruise liners have canceled their port calls to Russia.
Russia is one of India’s engineering exports in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region. At this time, the halt has impacted shippers by jeopardizing exports, and currently, there is no projection as to when things will change.
Sujit Chakraborty with the West Bengal Custom House Agents’ Society stated in an interview with PTI, “Many shipping liners stopped supplying containers and taking bookings for Russian ports due to geopolitical uncertainty. MSC, Maersk, Hapag-Llyod, which are leaders in global container shipping from eastern ports, have also stopped bookings.”
Clearly, the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict will impact engineering exports significantly in the final quarter of a fiscal year, especially for March which typically enjoys a significant increase in the spring.
“If the strife continues for some more days, exports to Russia may not reach the expected level by the end of the fiscal,” EEPC India chairperson Mahesh Desai stated in the same interview PTI.
From 2018 to 2019, India recorded $544.41 million in exports which then increased by 36% from 2019 to 2020. However, Ukraine/Russia situation has changed the entire landscape and operational outlook.
All terminal operations and inland transportation in Ukraine have come to a standstill. Logistics companies are no longer accepting bookings. Many companies are offering a free change of destination services which are subject to additional re-stowage and shifting costs. At this time there is no cancellation fee on active bookings.
Russia ranks as India’s 25th largest trading partner with exports totaling over $2.5 billion and imports of over $6.9 billion all within the first nine-month so the FY2022. Mobile phones, tea, and pharmaceuticals are regularly shipped from India to Russia. They also import crude oil, diamonds, and coal from Russia. Other imports are iron, sheet, coffee, and more.
India’s importation to Ukraine included items such as sunflower and vegetable oils. The two-way trade totaled $3.1 billion in 2021.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings – Norwegian Curie Line, Oceana Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises all halted their itineraries that included Russian ports for 2022. Norwegian Cruise line halted all stops to St. Petersburg due to the situation between Rissa and Ukraine. Regent Seven Seas also halted stops to the Solventsky Islands, Murmansk, St Petersburg, port of Odesa, and Arkhangelsk.
