Beijing, Jun 12 (IANS): China's COSCO, one of the world's largest shipping companies, on Monday announced the suspension of services to and from Qatar over an ongoing diplomatic row after nine Arab countries cut diplomatic ties with Doha.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Maldives, Mauritius and Mauritania last week severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, reports Efe news.

"In view of an uncertain situation, and to protect the utmost interests of our clients, we decided to suspend shipments from/to Qatar with immediate effect," the company said in a notice to customers.

With this move, COSCO joins other companies in the region, including Taiwan's Evergreen and Hong Kong's OOCL, which have already suspended services to the Arab country.

The Chinese company said the suspension will not affect vessels that had already sailed towards Qatar's main port, Hamad, before the diplomatic crisis erupted, although there could be delays in delivery.