CMA CGM will impose a fuel surcharge later this month in response to a jump in fuel prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East, it said on Saturday.
Surging fuel costs are among the effects of the war faced by shipping firms. They have halted services to the Persian Gulf and immobilised vessels already inside the Strait of Hormuz.
CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container shipping line, will implement an emergency fuel surcharge for loadings from March 23 until further notice, it said in a customer advisory.
The surcharge will range from $65 to $180 per standard container. The rate will depend on whether the cargo is dry and refrigerated, if the distance is long-haul or intra-regional, and if the journey is an outbound or return leg.
CMA CGM said costs for bunker, or ship fuel, had increased significantly across all regions, impacting the overall cost of ocean transport.
Rival MSC on Thursday announced an emergency fuel surcharge for all cargo from Northern Europe to the Red Sea and East Africa, effective March 16.
Crude oil prices posted their biggest weekly gains since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 as the Middle East war disrupted supplies.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz. Editing by Mark Potter)
