Maersk has announced it’s putting up its shipping rates significantly. It hinges on a drastic increase in its Emergency Contingency Surcharge (the additional cost for geopolitical and operational emergencies) applied to goods leaving the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
The Danish giant’s decision is of major strategic importance: the port of Fujairah overlooks the Gulf of Oman. It therefore represents one of the main alternative transit hubs outside the narrow bottleneck of the Persian Gulf.
The impact of the new price rises on 40’ dry containers varies depending on the trade route, i.e. anywhere from $1,500 to $45,000 per FEU on routes to South America. For shipments to Europe, the surcharge ranges from $800 to $3,800 per FEU.
There is to be a fixed tariff of $3,000/FEU for all other routes, which were previously exempt from this surcharge,
Maersk’s rate adjustments do not stop at the Middle East. With the peak trading season approaching, the company has formally introduced a Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) for cargo flows from the Far East to the US West Coast.
The levy, which will officially come into force on 17th June, is to be around $1,000 for 20-foot containers and $2,000 for 40-foot containers.
Translation by Giles Foster
