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Maersk Halts Ivory Coast Import Orders

By Isis Almeida - Jan 28, 2011 12:18 PM ET

 

Maersk Line, the container-ship unit of A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, stopped taking shipping orders for imports into Ivory Coast after the European Union imposed sanctions on the West African country.

"In line with European Union restrictions, we are ceasing acceptance of imports orders to Ivory Coast," Michael Storgaard, a press officer for Copenhagen-based Maersk, said today by phone. "We have not halted cocoa exports from Ivory Coast."

The EU said Jan. 14 it had frozen the assets of the country's cocoa- and coffee-exporting ports. Ivory Coast, the world's largest producer of cocoa, is in the midst of a standoff between Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to step down as president, and Alassane Ouattara, who is recognized internationally as the winner of an election in November.

Storgaard commented after Reuters reported that Maersk had halted cocoa exports from Ivory Coast.

To contact the reporter on this story: Isis Almeida in London at ialmeida3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.