Transport minister Loke Siew Fook said ZIM should liaise with other shipping companies to arrange for the containers to be removed.

“It’s their responsibility because they cannot enter (Malaysian ports), so they need to coordinate with other companies for the containers to be transported to the next destination,” Sinar Harian quoted Loke as saying at a press conference in Putrajaya today.

He said the containers were identified as transshipment cargo managed by ZIM.

“They will be given some time because these containers do not involve just one destination or port. No single shipping company can handle all 4,000 containers at once,” he said.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the government’s decision to block vessels belonging to ZIM from docking at any Malaysian port, effective immediately.

He said the restriction is a response to Israel’s actions that “disregard basic humanitarian principles and violate international law through continuous massacres and atrocities against Palestinian citizens”.

The government also decided to prohibit ships displaying Israel’s flag from docking at the country’s ports. Vessels heading for Israel are also prohibited from loading cargo at Malaysian ports.

Anwar also expressed confidence that these decisions would not adversely affect Malaysia’s trading activities.