Blanked Sailings, India Reacts To COVID-19, Italian Government Requires Shutdowns

TOC, along with our global partners in Europe and Asia, is committed to monitoring the conditions in countries where our customers supply chains reach – whether as an origin, destination or transit point.

With a new week comes changes across Europe and the Indian subcontinent

European blanked sailings

We have learned that there are planned blank sailings following Easter week (week 17). While we would have hoped that the paused operations of many businesses for the next several weeks would lead them to restore service during these weeks, sadly this is not the case.

As a result, we are working with other carriers to identify services and transit options to the United States that will not cause additional delays in customers’ supply chains.

Italian factories to shut down through April 3^rd 

The government of Italy has made the difficult decision to demand the closure of most factories until April 3^rd.

This announcement was made on Saturday by Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. ““It is the most difficult crisis in our post-war period,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a video posted on Facebook, adding “only production activities deemed vital for national production will be allowed.”

India begins taking action to combat COVID-19

The number of cases in India is on the rise (it has reached 450), and we have been informed that different states within the country are taking different actions making it challenging to get a cohesive picture of the response and what is and isn’t permitted.

• The state government of Delhi has ordered the border with other states closed through March 31^st and is not allowing even commercial vehicles to enter Delhi.
• Maharashstra state is in a complete lockdown and the Port CFS warehouses are closed until March 31^st.
• Gujarat state is also on a lockdown. Ahmedabad customs brokers have ceased work through March 31^st and no further clearances are happening at either the inland container depots or the airport.

As we learn more and can update clients, we will continue to provide the most current information at our disposal.