Maersk Sealand slashes war risk surcharge by half

Maersk Sealand has slashed its war risk surcharge by half for shipments to and from the Far and Middle East.

The rate for Far East trade was cut yesterday from $37 per TeU to $18 per TeU for full container loads.

The company also reduced the rate for loads of less than a container from $1.85 a unit to $0.90.
Maersk also trimmed its Emergency Bunker Factor rates for all cargo inbound or outbound to the United States.

From March 10 this rate will be $100 per TeU.

The company said this last cut was a response to the reduction in fuel costs for Middle East trade.

The shipping industry believes the cuts are the result of the once overheated container market finally cooling.

More announcements are expected in the coming weeks as the availability of cargo space in general in the region continues to improve.

To shore up falling container rates, shipping lines are cutting their own charges to the customers to boost business.

One shipping industry source said that following the China-led boom in the freight market many shipping companies tried various ways to increase the amount of space available on their ships to accommodate more cargo.

Some of them opted for bigger vessels while others dropped some destinations and offered direct services.

This is now coming home to roost as demand has fallen to turn up the pressure on rates.

But there is a certain amount of confidence from shipping companies that the market will bounce back within the next few weeks and that the discounts being offered are no more than temporary.