India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Mitigating Cyber Attack’s Impact

India’s Ministry of Shipping is working on contingency plans so as to curb the potential impact of expected cargo congestion at APM Terminals’ facility at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) caused by the recent cyber attack Petya.

Namely, operations at Maersk’s terminal operator at JNPT have also been among those disrupted by the cyber attack that hit Maersk’s business units yesterday across the globe.

“While the terminal operator is taking steps to address the issues disrupting the operations, it is anticipated that there could be bunching of in-bound and out-bound container cargo,” India’s Ministry of Shipping said earlier today.

The ministry added that it was cooperating with JNPT to ensure “minimum disturbance to trade, transporters and local citizens.”

“Since the congestion could create difficulties in traffic management, JNPT has opened up its parking lots for cargo destined to this private terminal. Further, CFSs have been advised to hold the cargo in their yards. JNPT is also working with local authority CIDCO, to identify more parking areas. Traffic control teams are being deployed to address potential road congestion,” the statement reads.

As informed, Gulshan Rai, National Cyber Security Coordinator is proceeding to JNPT to further deal with the situation.

Further steps will be undertaken depending on the development of the situation in the course of the next few days, which is being closely monitored by the ministry.

APM Terminals’ facilities across Europe have been impacted by the cyber attack, which also spread into the US disrupting operations at the Port of Los Angeles’ largest terminal, as well as New York and New Jersey.

World Maritime News has tried to contact APM Terminals for an update but their spokesperson is yet to provide us with a comment on the matter.

In its latest update Maersk said that all immediate vessel operations will continue as planned, making the majority of planned port calls.

“Access to most ports is not impacted, however some APM Terminals are affected and gates are closed. Cargo in transit will be offloaded as planned. Import cargo will be released to credit customers,” Maersk added.

In light of the ongoing situation, Maersk won’t be able to serve new quotes or accept future bookings, until further notice.

As disclosed, activities are underway so as to restore normal operations as soon as possible.

World Maritime News Staff