Maersk has issued a new operational advisory outlining expanded landbridge services, booking suspensions and additional charges for cargo affected by the volatile situation in the Middle East.
The carrier said it is taking measures intended to protect personnel and cargo while maintaining network stability, although it stressed that arrangements remain subject to change.
Context: Container Shipping Intelligence File
For landside transport, Maersk has temporarily paused bookings for cargo moving from the UAE and Qatar through Jeddah and Oman ports; from Jeddah to the UAE, Oman and Qatar; and from Salalah and Sohar to several Gulf destinations. Available alternatives include export landbridge solutions from Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE via Salalah and Khor Fakkan, as well as from Iraq via Aqaba. The available services accept dry and frozen cargo, subject to capacity.
Operational context
Ocean booking restrictions differ by cargo type. Reefer bookings have been suspended to and from Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, several Saudi ports and Jordan, as well as to most UAE locations, with specified exceptions. Maersk said bookings remain open for selected locations including Lebanon, Israel, Oman, and Khor Fakkan for imports.
Dangerous-goods cargo faces wider restrictions, including suspended bookings for a number of Gulf destinations. However, bookings are accepted for Saudi Arabia through Jeddah for local consignees, subject to a USD 3,800 emergency freight charge. DG bookings to and from Sohar are also accepted, except for IMO Class 5.1 cargo. Maersk said DG restrictions at Israel's Haifa and Ashdod ports have been lifted in line with local regulations.
The carrier has set out alternative handling arrangements for DG cargo bound for the UAE and Upper Gulf countries, including trucking through Fujairah and Jebel Ali. Customers are required to arrange onward trucking from designated clearance locations, while related storage charges will be for customers' accounts.
For cargo already booked or in transit, Maersk is applying an Emergency Freight rate for shipments loading from or destined for Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Oman excluding Salalah, and Saudi Arabia's Dammam and Jubail ports. Charges are USD 1,800 for a 20-foot dry container, USD 3,000 for a 40-foot dry container, and USD 3,800 for reefer, special and DG equipment.
What it means for maritime operators
Containers transiting the Strait of Hormuz will also incur an additional USD 1,000 per-container fee. Maersk said this is intended to cover costs including higher insurance premiums and crew-risk compensation, while the emergency freight rate supports alternative routing, temporary storage and additional chartering requirements.
Customers with cargo en route may continue the voyage with temporary storage, return cargo to origin, or change destination, subject to operational feasibility. The emergency freight charge covers 14 days of transit storage under the first option, after which storage of USD 25 per TEU per day applies, alongside reefer charges where relevant.
Maersk has also revised routings for some regional shipments. Cargo booked for Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE will be routed through Salalah and Khor Fakkan before landbridge movement to Sharjah and onward feeder connections, rather than transshipping through Jeddah. Saudi import and export cargo will continue moving through Jeddah, including shipments to Riyadh and Dammam using the established landbridge service.
Separate temporary arrangements apply to empty-container returns, with usual return locations unavailable for certain import shipments. Maersk has designated Salalah and Jeddah as return depots, while limited acceptance at other locations may be subject to drop-off charges.