File Photo: Containers of Danish shipping and logistics company Maersk stand on a vessel in Copenhagen. AFP
"We are temporarily suspending cargo booking acceptance in and out of the UAE, Oman (all ports apart from Salalah), Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia (Dammam and Jubail only) until further notice. This is with immediate notice," Maersk said in a statement.
It added that "exceptions will be made for critical foodstuffs, medicine and other essential goods."
The company also added that the measure does not apply to Jordan and Lebanon. Two of its vessels are currently in the Gulf.
Maersk had said Sunday that it was halting passage through the Suez Canal and the narrow Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.
It followed several shipping groups who had made similar announcements after Iran's Revolutionary Guards first declared the strait closed on Saturday.
On Wednesday they said they had "complete control" over the vital waterway, through which around 20 percent of global seaborne oil passes, and warned that any vessels seeking to pass risked damage from missiles or stray drones.
With energy prices already spiking, US President Donald Trump had said the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the crucial shipping route.
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