Shipping fee to increase 10%

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

28 Dec 2007

Shipping lines operating between the Far East and the Gulf have agreed to raise the Emergency Bunker Surcharge (EBS) by 10 per cent to $214 (Dh785) for 20-foot containers and $428 for 40-foot containers. Captain Mansour A Ghafoor, Head of the National Association of Freight and logistics, revealed the increase will come into effect in January. He said the rise in the surcharge is a result of the sharp rise that occurred recently in the price of oil, which hit an all-time high in November, rising beyond the level of $99 per barrel. The oil price shock has pushed shipping companies to review surcharges on a monthly basis, as opposed to once or twice a year earlier. Captain Ghafoor said the shipping lines also agreed to impose additional surcharges on 20-foot containers with cargo of more than 15.5 tonnes. A $150 surcharge will be imposed on any container whose load is over 15.5 tonnes. The surcharge will go up to $300 if the weight is more than 20 tonnes. Earlier this month, the EBS for 20-foot containers was $195, and that for 40-foot containers was $390. EBS on 20-foot containers coming from Europe is $400, while the EBS on 40-foot containers is $800, said Ghafoor.