Taiwan's Yang Ming container carrier line is halting its service to Iran, according to a company source reporting to Reuters.
The world's ninth largest box mover is the first foreign shipping line to abandon the route a year after international sanctions on Tehran were lifted and companies started serving the country.
Reuters said it was unable to confirm independently whether the cancellation of the route was due to new concern over Iran, or to changes at the Taiwanese company which is trying to slash costs after it posted a loss of US$62 million in the last quarter of 2016.
The source, an executive in Yang Ming, said the company had adjusted some of its routes in Asia as a result of the downturn and that ceasing direct service to Iran was mainly because of geopolitical issues rather than the cost cutting drive.
Yang Ming has announced in a regulatory filing that it has suspended its share trading until May 4, 2017, in an effort to reduce losses from a global downturn in shipping.
