Maersk imposes emergency Hormuz transit fee as global container rates jump 16 percent

The shipping giant Maersk said in its latest operational update on Wednesday, 22 July, that it will charge an emergency fee of 1,000 dollars for every container transiting the Strait of Hormuz. In addition, war-risk surcharges for Persian Gulf-linked lanes have been set at up to 1,500 dollars per TEU, and emergency freight increases for Persian Gulf cargo at 3,000 dollars per FEU or more.

Maersk's chief executive said the company is paying around 500 million dollars a month in extra fuel costs because of the Hormuz crisis. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index rose 16 percent from the prior week to 2,572 points in the week ending Friday.