Russia/Ukraine situation: Operational update

DSV has stopped all activity in Ukraine following the Russian invasion of the country on Thursday 24 February. We follow the intensifying situation with great concern, while the security and well-being of our employees remain the top priority across the organisation. Furthermore, DSV is involved in several relief aid projects in the neighbouring countries and across Europe to support the people of Ukraine.

As the situation continues to evolve, we monitor the implications for our operations closely. To best serve our customers, DSV is in steady dialogue with our carrier partners to mitigate the effects of the situation as much as possible while complying with the ever-evolving sanctions and restrictions imposed against Russia.

On 2 March, the EU announced new sanctions against Belarus, targeting individuals and some economic sectors. More details of these penalties and their implications will be published once official.

Following our previous advisories, please find below an operational update across transport modes as of 2 March.

Air

Due to the closure of Russian air space, rates are going up, but so far only on some corridors. Free sale capacity has immediately changed to express rates with several carriers going into destinations in Asia. Mainly to China, Japan and Korea. 

DSV has received notification from some carriers that a war surcharge will be implemented across the board on all lanes. The surcharge is an average to make up for added flying time to avoid Russian air space on specific routes. We expect all airlines will follow this example.

Sea

Several carriers have decided not to call any ports in Russia and stopped the acceptance of orders to and from Russia until further notice. This booking stop, however, does not impact a few selected types of goods such as medicine and emergency aid.

By the omission of Russian and Ukrainian ports, many schedules are subject to changes or disruptions, but outside of Ukraine and Russia, we do not observe any operational challenges right now.

Road

All road operations to, from and inside Ukraine has stopped, but there are currently no sanctions on Ukraine, except for the Russia-controlled regions of Donbas (Donetsk and the Luhansk) and Crimea.

Contract logistics

All DSV warehouse operations in Ukraine have been stopped until further notice. In Russia, we continue to operate our warehouses as close to normal as possible.

Rail

Due to the uncertainty of the situation in Russia, DSV has decided to stop all rail services between Asia and Europe. Cargo that is currently in transit will still be moved, but it will not be possible to make new bookings. Local DSV teams are ready to find alternative solutions for customers that will be affected by the stop to our rail services.

Stay informed about sanctions

As the current sanctions against Russia apply to a wide array of goods, it is not possible to make an exhaustive list of the products that are comprised by the current sanctions. Customers that have cargo in transit to or from the occupied territories or Russia have a responsibility to keep themselves informed about applicable sanctions or restrictions that will impact their products.

For additional questions or concerns, please reach out to your DSV contact.