Seatrade-Maritime: Maersk adds $500 surcharge for Gulf-bound containers

Published by Seatrade-Maritime

Maersk has introduced a new surcharge for containers destined for the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq that will apply to all bookings except for those from Far East Asia.

The per-container charge of $500 will apply to contract bookings and covers dry, reefer, and special containers, according to Maersk’s announcements published last week. The Emergency Operational Cost Recovery Surcharge is in addition to other surcharges, local charges, and contingency charges, it said.

UAE-bound containers will be subject to the charge from 15 September, except for regulated countries, which have a 9 October deadline. Containers for Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq will be subject to the charge from 17 September, or 11 October for regulated countries. Regulated countries are the US, Guam, American Samoa, Virgin Islands (US), Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Brazil.

As supply chains scramble to adapt to rapidly changing situations in the Middle East, the carrier also announced that some shipments booked with a final destination of Khor Fakkan on the UAE’s eastern coast will instead be discharged at Fujairah and carried by bonded landside transport to Dubai’s Jebel Ali.

The latest surcharge announcement from Maersk adds to emergency freight rates announced in early March for cargo loading from or destined to ports in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia (Damman & Jubail), Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman (except Salalah). The rate stands at $1,800 per 20-foot container, $3,000 per 40-foot container, and $3,800 per reefer, special, and Dangerous Goods container.

In July, the carrier added a $1,000 per container surcharge for cargo needing to transit the Strait of Hormuz. In August it explained that the Strait of Hormuz transit fee was to cover additional costs including insurance premiums and crew risk compensation, replacing separately-charged costs for the landbridge solution.

Disruption in the Middle East has further affected Maersk’s customers’ costs globally through an Emergency Bunker Surcharge, ranging from $100 per 20-foot dry container on intra trades through to $600 per 40-foot reefer on the headhaul of long-haul trades.

Rising costs are not limited to ocean trades; Maersk has an air freight fuel surcharge of at least 15% of the transportation rate, linked to market indices.

Last week, Maersk blamed the Middle East situation for an Emergency Inland Fuel/Energy Surcharge for inland shipments in the Nordics of up to 20% for Store Door shipments. In Macedonia, Maersk’s truck fuel surcharge has risen to 25% from 14 September.