Announcement of charges in relation to Red Sea / Gulf of Aden situation - from Far East Asia

The A.P. Moller – Maersk group (“Maersk”) is continuing to monitor developments around the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden and making carefully considered changes to services to ensure the safety of our seafarers, vessels and customers’ cargo.

After pausing vessels in the area over the highly escalated security situation, Maersk announced on Tuesday 19 December 2023 that previously paused vessels would be diverted around the Cape of Good Hope for safety reasons and future services would also be the subject of a security evaluation to determine necessary contingencies. This decision was made in the light of the risks, delays and difficulties associated with transiting the Red Sea / Gulf of Aden at this time.

Diverting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope to mitigate the ongoing risks of sailing through the region is a necessary step in the interest of safety, but it has ultimately brought about increased costs for carriers. As such, Maersk is invoking Clause 20(a) of the Terms for Carriage and Clause 22(a) of the House Bill of Lading (whichever is appropriate to the relevant carriage) in order to recover these costs.

The additional freight and costs of carriage under Clause 20(a) of the Terms for Carriage and Clause 22(a) of the House Bill of Lading are set out in the table below. These additional charges are effective immediately until further notice and will apply to bookings from Far East Asia that are subject to diversion. This includes shipments already ‘on the water’ that have been or will be diverted. It will be presented as Transit Disruption Surcharge (TDS) on customer invoices.

In addition, due to severe operational disruption, Maersk is announcing a Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) as set out in the table below until further notice*. This is applicable from 1st January 2024, on all existing and new contracts starting based on market specific price calculation date which in most markets is estimated departure date or gate in of last container on the shipment (subject to any required regulatory approvals and notice periods). Our teams will continue to evaluate the impact of the situation and hope to withdraw surcharges as soon as operationally feasible, however please note that they may also increase depending on the circumstances.