Regional Updates in Middle East & India

Operational and Customer Service Updates for Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent

+++ last updated on January 14, 2022 +++

Summary

• Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa Operational Updates for Week 2 (here)
• India – Curbs tightened in most Indian states. Authorities continue to implement controls like curfews and nonessential activity restrictions as needed. Ports, terminals and ICD’s continue to work normally. However, certain industries with a higher work force have indicated that if the rise in Covid cases continues, there could be a possible effect on productivity. Situation monitored.
  
• Bangladesh – Tightening of domestic measures. Crewmembers of ships may not disembark, while entry for freight workers through land borders will be limited to drivers. Authorities also announced new transport curbs, though the start date is yet to confirm. The measures include operating public transport via road, rail, and river at 50-percent capacity. Berthing congestion at the terminal persists.
  
• Sri Lanka – Restrictions adjusted and curfews enforced, as needed. Currently, no effect on operations noted
  

Terminal Operations
Some terminals slightly affected by labor reductions, but operations continue close to normal. For latest status available on google maps for terminals, click here.

Railway Operations
No impact to report.

Truck Availability
No impact to report.

Barge Availability
No impact to report.

Depots
For latest status available on google maps for Depots and CFS, click here.

Customer Service

Our counters in the Middle East are open. Please review the box “Related CustomerNEWS” to find out specifics for each country. If not listed, please check with your local office for any adjusted working hours.

• Saudi Arabia – With immediate effective, the Saudi Arabian Government has announced a suspension of cargo imports to Saudi Arabia from Lebanon. With this regulation in place, we will not be able to accept your cargo on this specific routing.
  
• Sharjah, UAE - We are upgrading our product for the Emirate of Sharjah effective November 1, 2021. You can now select direct delivery of your dry containers to the following industrial locations in Sharjah (AESHJ) - Sharjah Industrial Area (Up to ICD) / Saif Free Zone Sharjah / Sajah and Al Dhaid. For a smoother customer experience, please pre-select your preferred sub-location for future bookings. Currently we are unable to offer this service for DG, Reefer and Specials, which remain on CY basis only.
• Syria - Hapag-Lloyd has removed booking restrictions to Syria from the following countries – United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. For more information, please contact your local Sales/Customer Service teams.
  
• India – While our Mumbai office will continue to remain closed, counter remains open. However, please consider using the seaway bill functionality for exports and telex release for import shipments to speed up collection of your documents. Our call center continues to operate normally. However, due to possible high influx of calls, we recommend opting for email communication as first choice. Delhi counter open with special permission as well. Due to total lockdown in Tamil Nadu, Chennai counter closed - staff working from home and closely coordinating with customers.
  
• UAE – All Delivery Order (D/O) requests and payments to submit via ODeX platform. Cash payments only accepted in limited amounts through Al Fardan Exchange added to ODeX. Dubai counter is open with regular business day hours
  
• For customer inquiries, we encourage customers to use email as the primary method of contact with our Customer Service teams, we are monitoring emails and answering them as expeditiously as possible
  
• For urgent escalations only, you can still use phone calls. However please note that we are experiencing high call volumes and longer than normal waiting times
  
• For vessel/container/booking status and sailing schedules information, customers should visit our Online Business section at our Hapag-Lloyd website
  
• For faster BL release at destination, under the current COVID-19 conditions, we encourage customers to switch from OBL to SWB, if any assistance needed please reach out to your customer service documentation team
  
• For payments, we encourage customers to use our online payment options explained in the separate “Related CustomerNEWS” section by country.  If you cannot find information that you are looking for, please reach out to your local customer service department here
• We strongly invite our customers to use our e-tools (Web-Booking and EASI) for submitting bookings and Shipping Instructions as well as our Hapag-Lloyd Navigator Dashboard to view all of your shipment information on one single screen.
  
  Reach out to your local customer service representative here