Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 5, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 2, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleMSC has imposed an emergency "war surcharge" on cargo shipments to African nations and Indian Ocean islands from the Indian subcontinent and Gulf countries, effective March 5, 2026, due to heightened maritime risks in the Straits of Hormuz and Bab el‑Mandeb.
March 5 (Reuters) - Shipping company MSC said on Thursday it would implement a "war surcharge" for cargoes moving to African nations and Indian Ocean islands from the Indian subcontinent and the Gulf countries, after maritime traffic was affected in the Straits of Hormuz and Bab El-Mandeb.
The surcharges, effective on Thursday, apply to cargoes from the Indian subcontinent to East Africa, Somalia, Mozambique and Indian Ocean islands, as well as from the Gulf nations to West Africa, East Africa, South Africa, Mozambique and the Indian Ocean islands, MSC said.
The surcharge for cargoes from the Indian subcontinent will be $500 per 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) for dry containers and $1,000 per TEU for refrigerated containers, MSC said.
The shipping company said it will charge $2,000 for 20-foot containers, $3,000 for 40-foot containers and $4,000 for refrigerated containers on cargoes from Gulf nations to African countries.
(Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
MSC imposed a war surcharge due to disruptions in maritime traffic in the Straits of Hormuz and Bab El-Mandeb.
Shipments from the Indian subcontinent and Gulf countries to African nations and Indian Ocean islands are affected.
The surcharge is $500 per 20-foot dry container and $1,000 per refrigerated container.
MSC will charge $2,000 for 20-foot containers, $3,000 for 40-foot containers, and $4,000 for refrigerated containers.
The war surcharges are effective immediately as of Thursday, March 5.
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