Recently, two major shipping giants, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd, announced that they would suspend all new booking services to and from Cuba from today.

When will it resume? The official reply is only four words: "Further notice".

Why did it suddenly "quit"?

The reason given by the shipping company is very official: hedging.

Recently, significant changes have occurred in the relevant policy environment, with regulatory reach further extending to cover multiple fields such as energy, finance, 

and mining.

To avoid "stepping on landmines", shipping companies chose the simplest and most direct approach: cutting off the source of risk and suspending operations directly.

What does the "big move" of accounting for 60% of the transportation capacity mean?

According to industry insiders, these two giants have an extremely high market share in Cuba's maritime transportation market, and some even believe that they account

 for about 60% of the local shipping capacity.

Cuba is highly dependent on imports, with the majority of its fuel, food, and various industrial products relying on maritime transportation. This sudden "brake" by the shipping giant directly poses a risk of disrupting Cuba's already strained logistics supply system.

Shipping companies are not entirely without options.

In theory, if only providing transportation services to local private enterprises, the risk of sanctions can be avoided.

However, in reality, 1. Cuba's import business has long been dominated by the state, with large state-owned enterprises being the main recipients of goods.

2. Are private small and medium-sized businesses capable of taking over bulk procurement originally undertaken by the state? Even if they are, their customs clearance capabilities, financial scale, and underlying supply chain ecosystem are insufficient to support current market demand.

Under the baton of "compliance", shipping companies have opted for a "one-size-fits-all" approach. While it appears to be risk aversion, in reality, it transfers commercial risks to the very end of the logistics chain.

When shipping giants withdraw due to policy pressure, it is always the local ordinary people who have to pay the price for the shortage of supplies.