Maersk Cuts Its Fossil Fuel Fee From 1 October and Resets Terminal Charges
Far East to North Europe falls to $570 per 40ft box as the fourth-quarter reference price drops to $752.19 a tonne
A.P. Moller-Maersk will cut its Fossil Fuel Fee on several major trades from 1 October 2026, as lower reference fuel prices feed into the fourth-quarter tariff calculation, and will reset origin and destination terminal handling charges across a wide range of markets in Europe and Asia-Pacific from the same date.
The carrier calculated its fourth-quarter fee using average fuel prices of $752.19 per tonne for 0.5 percent sulphur very low sulphur fuel oil and $1,157.90 per tonne for 0.1 percent sulphur low sulphur marine gasoil. Those compare with $774.65 and $1,267.02 respectively for the third quarter, a fall of roughly three percent on the heavier grade and nearly nine percent on the distillate.
For a 40-foot dry container moving from Far East Asia to North Europe, the fee falls to $570 from $595. On the reverse leg it declines to $399 from $416. West Coast South America to Europe falls to $990 from $1,037, while Europe to West Coast South America drops to $1,015 from $1,063.
The mechanism itself is not new. Maersk has applied the Fossil Fuel Fee to new contract quotations valid for more than three months since July 2024, with tariffs reviewed periodically against published fuel price indices. That structure means the bunker component of a long-term rate moves on a quarterly cadence rather than with the spot market, and the October revision is the first cut of any size in that series this year.
Running alongside it is a reset of terminal handling charges in markets including Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, the Baltic states, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Israel, Georgia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.
In Germany, origin and destination handling will be set at €300 for dry containers and €450 for reefers. In Japan, handling will be JPY 36,000 for a 20-foot dry container and JPY 54,000 for 40-foot and 45-foot dry units. For Georgian exports, origin handling will be $355 for a 20-foot dry container and $425 for 40-foot and 45-foot units, with import handling at $425 and $505 respectively and higher rates applying to reefers and dangerous cargo.
The October tariff changes are separate from an emergency inland fuel and energy surcharge for Nordic Store Door shipments that took effect on 2 September. That temporary charge ranges from three percent in Lithuania to 17 percent in Estonia, with no additional charge applied in Norway.
