Container shipments to Russia risk being halted within days after a major operator suspended bookings in response to Western sanctions on Moscow.

“Booking acceptance to and from St Petersburg, Russia is suspended with immediate effect until further notice whilst we evaluate the operational feasibility,” said Singapore-headquartered Ocean Network Express (ONE).

It has also suspended bookings for the Russian port of Novorossiisk as well as the Ukrainian container port of Odesa.

Germany’s Hapag Lloyd said last week it had issued a temporary suspension on bookings for Russia and halted sailings for Ukraine. A Hapag spokesperson said the action was “due to the developments we have seen last week and to ensure we comply with any sanctions imposed”.

Meanwhile, Maersk said it was closely monitoring the fast-evolving sanctions and restrictions imposed against Russia, and making preparations to comply with them.

“Our preparations include a possible suspension of Maersk bookings to and from Russia on ocean and inland,” said the world’s largest shipping line.

MSC, the world’s biggest container line by capacity, said it was maintaining shipping and inland services to and from Russia “in full compliance with international sanctions measures”.

“Bookings for permitted Russia-related cargo will be accepted only with a thorough screening process by MSC with prepayment required for all imports to Russia,” the company said.

“We expect Russia-related cargo shipments to be impacted by an increasing number of inspections and controls at European and other international ports.”

In a coordinated response, the United States, European countries and others have made the unusual move of targeting Russia’s central bank with financial sanctions and put limits on cross-border transactions by the country’s largest lenders.

Maersk, which handles roughly one in six containers shipped worldwide, said it was focusing on safeguarding types of containers and cold chain operations that “include important goods such as groceries and pharmaceuticals”.

Maersk said limitations to operations over Russian air space would affect its air services.

The company last year generated about 2.5pc of its total revenue from Russia. It operates container shipping routes to St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad in the Baltic Sea, Novorossiysk in the Black Sea, and to Vladivostok and Vostochny on Russia’s east coast.

Maersk has been active in Russia since 1992.

Last week, the company halted all port calls in Ukraine until the end of February and has shut its main office in Odesa on the Black Sea coast.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation,” designed not to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour’s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.