Hapag-Lloyd will introduce an emergency fuel surcharge (EFS) across all trades from 23 March, citing sharply increased bunker costs driven by geopolitical circumstances.

The German container line said the surcharge will cover extraordinary costs not addressed by its existing marine fuel recovery charge (MFR).

The EFS will vary by trade lane and container type. For long-haul front-haul routes, the charge will be $160 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) for dry containers and $225 per TEU for refrigerated units. Long-haul back-haul and intra-regional trades will incur charges of $70 per TEU for dry containers and $100 per TEU for reefer containers.

The surcharge applies to sailings commencing on or after 23 March, excluding cargo within US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) scope and Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE)-regulated scopes.

For shipments within FMC jurisdiction, the EFS will take effect 8 April, applying only to cargo gating in on or after that date.

Hapag-Lloyd said the charge is to be borne by the sea freight payer.