Registry

Does Maersk support Israel?

A.P. Moller-Maersk

Owned by A.P. Møller Holding Records for the parent company are kept separately.

Statement on recordupdated 2026-09-25

Maersk has publicly expressed support for Israel, but we found no record of donations or aid. Every claim below links to its source.

Filed under: Hotels & travel companies · Companies that support Israel

Background

Maersk is a Danish container shipping and logistics group; this site's category vocabulary has no freight-and-logistics pillar, so it is filed under the closest available category alongside other carriers. It is the most contested company in this sector. Since 2024 the Danish investigative outlets Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet, Oxfam Denmark together with the Palestinian Youth Movement, and the UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese in her July 2025 report 'From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide' have alleged, on the basis of bills of lading and commercial shipping records, that Maersk carried military hardware and munition components to Israel. Those are their claims, not findings of this record, and they are noted here only because Maersk itself has answered them in writing. Maersk's published position is that 'from the outset of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, we have maintained a strict policy of not shipping weapons or ammunition to Israel'; that its compliance screening follows EU, US and Danish law including the Wassenaar Arrangement, the EU common military list and ITAR; that after a review of West Bank transports it tightened settlement-related screening with reference to UN standards; and that the Albanese report 'appears to be based not on an independent investigation, but rather on input from third-party sources that have not been validated or verified.' What is not disputed, because Maersk states it itself, is documented above: US government contracts through Maersk Line, Limited that cover military-related cargo to Israel, and F-35 parts moving to and from Israel. The company also reports vandalism and demonstrations at its premises as a result of the campaign against it.

Maersk — statement on military-related cargo shipments (incl. F-35, settlements, Albanese response) Oxfam — Bullets, Bombs and Mortars: Maersk's Shipments of Munition Components to Israel Jerusalem Post

Timeline of documented records

2010201320162019202220252010-05 — Government contract: US Department of Defense — Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command (chartering vessels to move ammunition to Israel)Government contract2010-052011-03 — Government contract: Israel's Ministry of Defense (Federal Maritime Commission agreement 011346, 'Israel Carrier Association')Government contract2011-032023-10 — Operations in Israel: Israeli importers and exporters (Ports of Haifa and Ashdod)Operations in Israel2023-102025-03 — Government contract: United States government security cooperation programmes (cargo to Israel, carried by Maersk Line, Limited)Government contract2025-032025-03 — Public statement: A.P. Moller-Maersk annual general meeting (proposals to stop arms-related shipments to Israel)Public statement2025-032025-06 — Government contract: F-35 global supply chain programme (including Israel, where F-35 wings are manufactured)Government contract2025-062025-06 — Operations in Israel: Ports of Haifa and Ashdod (wartime suspension and resumption)Operations in Israel2025-062026 — Operations in Israel: Israeli trade (Maersk Israel: Tel Aviv head office, Ashdod and Haifa offices)Operations in Israel2026

Documented records

TypeDateAmountRecipientSources
Operations in Israel2023-10-09—Israeli importers and exporters (Ports of Haifa and Ashdod)
Two days after the 7 October 2023 attack, while other carriers were reassessing the region, Maersk issued a customer advisory confirming normal operations at Haifa and Ashdod, saying it expected to move cargo already booked or on the water without issues and that it would continue to accept new bookings for Israel. The advisory was relayed the same week in Kuehne+Nagel's market update to shippers.
One source
Operations in Israel2026—Israeli trade (Maersk Israel: Tel Aviv head office, Ashdod and Haifa offices)
Maersk runs its own Israeli country organisation rather than working through a local agent. Its published Israel guide lists a head office in Tel Aviv (Toyota Tower A, 65 Yigal Alon St), plus offices in Ashdod and Haifa and desks at both ports, and states: 'With a head office in Tel Aviv and five weekly services from Israel to the world's key markets, we are well placed to propel your business towards greater growth.' Inland road and rail haulage inside Israel is provided with local partners.
One source
Government contract2025-03-18—United States government security cooperation programmes (cargo to Israel, carried by Maersk Line, Limited)
Maersk's US-flag subsidiary Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) holds United States government transport contracts through its participation in the Maritime Security Program. In its own published statement the company says these contracts 'include the transportation of cargo to over 180 countries under security cooperation programs, including also the transportation of civilian and military-related cargo to Israel.' Maersk adds a limit on that cargo: the US security cooperation programme prohibits transporting classified or sensitive cargo, which it defines as including weapons and ammunition, without a Transportation Plan approved by the US government, and 'MLL has never submitted a Transportation Plan for approval of these types of shipments.' The contracting party is MLL and the shipper is the US government — not the Israeli state.
Government contract2025-06—F-35 global supply chain programme (including Israel, where F-35 wings are manufactured)
In a statement published on its own newsroom, Maersk confirms that Maersk Line, Limited is one of nearly a hundred logistics companies providing vendor-to-vendor transport for the global F-35 supply chain, and that 'MLL regularly transports parts between participating countries, including Israel, where F-35 wings are manufactured.' Israel is one of 16 countries besides the US participating in the programme; the supply chain itself is managed and controlled by the coalition of partner countries, not by Maersk.
One source
Public statement2025-03-18—A.P. Moller-Maersk annual general meeting (proposals to stop arms-related shipments to Israel)
At the company's annual general meeting shareholders rejected two proposals aimed at Israel-related cargo: one from the Danish shareholder group Kritiske Aktionærer to ban arms shipments to Israel, and one from the campaign group Ekō demanding greater transparency on human-rights due diligence. The Møller family holding company controls a majority of the voting rights. Chief executive Vincent Clerc told the meeting that 'Maersk has a strict policy of not shipping weapons or ammunitions into any active conflict zone' while acknowledging that the group does transport military-related cargo, adding that where it draws the line 'is done after a very careful assessment.'
Operations in Israel2025-06-20—Ports of Haifa and Ashdod (wartime suspension and resumption)
During the June 2025 Israel-Iran war Maersk temporarily suspended vessel calls and cargo acceptance at the Port of Haifa on 20 June 2025, citing threat-risk reports and the safety of its crews, while stating that 'we continue to call the port in Ashdod' and that inland services in Israel would continue with local partners. On 25 June it reopened import cargo acceptance to Haifa and on 30 June regular Haifa vessel calls resumed, the company citing the prospect of a ceasefire. Ashdod operations were never suspended.
Government contract2011-03-02—Israel's Ministry of Defense (Federal Maritime Commission agreement 011346, 'Israel Carrier Association')
Maersk (both A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S and its US-flag subsidiary Maersk Line, Limited) is a party to a Federal Maritime Commission-filed agreement, originally filed as the 'Israel Trade Conference Agreement' and renamed 'Israel Carrier Association' in a 2011 amendment. That amendment's own published Federal Register synopsis states it 'changes the authority of the Agreement from a conference to a service contract with Israel's Ministry of Defense.' The agreement was held jointly with Zim Integrated Shipping Services and, until a 2017 amendment removed it, American President Lines; it remains on file with the FMC. Who Profits, an advocacy research centre, further characterizes the agreement as giving the Israeli Ministry of Defense preferential container-shipping terms over other customers — that specific characterization is Who Profits' own and is not independently verified here. What the FMC's own notice confirms is narrower but still direct: the agreement's stated authority is a service contract with Israel's Ministry of Defense.
Government contract2010-05-28$4,258,998US Department of Defense — Department of the Navy, Military Sealift Command (chartering vessels to move ammunition to Israel)
US Navy Military Sealift Command records show two 2010 charter contracts awarded to Maersk Line, Limited (Norfolk, VA) — USAspending's own recipient data lists A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S as Maersk Line, Limited's parent, resolving what a separate pass at the Mars, Incorporated page had flagged as a possible name collision. The first, worth $2,432,182.54, is described in the government's own contract record as a '28 day time charter to support ammo movement from US to Israel' (contract N0003310C5518, signed 2010-05-04, performance 28 May-31 October 2010). The second, worth $1,826,815.85, is a '28 day charter hire for vessel to support ammo transport from US to Israel' (contract N0003310C5515, signed 2010-05-28) — $4,258,998.39 combined. Both are contracts between the US Department of Defense and Maersk Line, Limited to charter vessels: Maersk is the carrier, the US Navy is the customer and owner of the ammunition, and Israel is the delivery destination named in the contracts' own descriptions.

Frequently asked questions

Did Maersk donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?

We have no records of donations. What is on record is a public statement of support — see this page for the wording and its source.

Where does this information come from?

Every record on this page links to its source — news reports, official company statements, tax filings, or government records. 14 distinct sources are cited for Maersk. Our methodology page explains the full verification process.

Sources & citations

Record last updated: 2026-09-25

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