Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, claims it was among those affected by the recent global NotPetya cyber attack, and that this has led to cargo delays and issues with processing orders.
Maersk operates a fleet of more than 600 container vessels and has a global market share of around 16 percent. 25 percent of all containers shipped around the Europe- Asia route are handled by Maersk.
“Our portal is down and we are not able to take on new orders until we get it back up,” Maersk Line Chief Commercial Officer Vincent Clerc said, unsure as to exactly when the company would be able to get its systems back to normal. “We’re being very cautious to ensure that as we bring the applications backup, the attack is contained and rolled back. It limits the accessibility we have at the moment.”
Maersk came under attack when the ransomware hit its servers in both India and Europe. “Global cyber-attack NotPetya is affecting multiple businesses,” Maersk said on Twitter. The attack hit business areas including port and tug operations, drilling services, oil tankers and container shipping.
One spokeswoman could not say how Maersk’s operations had been impacted and that the attack could extend across the company’s global operations. Maersk operates in 59 countries globally and operates in 79 port and terminal facilities. Some of the sites impacted by the attack include the Port of New York and New Jersey, the largest port on the U.S. East Coast, and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Europe’s largest harbour.
At a Maersk-operated terminal facility near Mumbai, the attack led to containers not being loaded or unloaded as the staff were unable to identify shipments, which has led to cargo needing to be identified manually.
Sydbank analyst Morten Imsgaard said that the situation would not be tenable “for many days” and may have a larger financial impact if the company were unable to be up and running.
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