Fog in Qingdao. CMA CGM said the surcharge would be removed “once the operational situation in the port of Qingdao has been normalised”.
From Friday, the deepsea carrier will implement a surcharge of US$125 per teu on all shipments from the fog-affected Chinese port of Qingdao to North Europe, including the UK, Baltic countries and Russia.
CMA CGM told customers: “The operational situation in the port of Qingdao is not improving: in the last four weeks the port has been closed, on average, three days per week.
“The dense fog does not allow ship berthing and normal terminal operations. The time lost has to be recovered through a significant increase of fuel consumption, resulting from a higher speed, and from call omissions generating additional feeder expenses.”