<h3 data-path-to-node="3" style="font-family: "Google Sans", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="3" data-index-in-node="0" style="font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Persistent Security Vulnerabilities and Higher Bunker Costs Keep Freight Premiums Firm Across GCC Trade Lanes</b></h3><p data-path-to-node="4" style="font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="4" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">DUBAI</b> — Major global container shipping lines and regional ocean carriers operating across the Persian Gulf have confirmed that Emergency Contingency Surcharges, War Risk Premiums, and Emergency Fuel Surcharges (EFS) will remain fully active through the third quarter of 2026.</p><p data-path-to-node="5" id="p-rc_0b4029b482909b1e-145" style="font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><span class="citation-182 citation-end-182" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Despite ongoing diplomatic negotiations in West Asia, commercial shipping throughput through the Strait of Hormuz and the broader Gulf region continues to linger significantly below historic baseline levels.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c647700645="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c647700645="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="1" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span> Liner operators maintain that volatile security conditions, heightened marine insurance underwriting requirements, and elevated bunker fuel costs leave them with no choice but to preserve elevated pricing structures to offset severe operational risks.<sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c2554013184="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> <source-inline-chip _ngcontent-ng-c2554013184="" _nghost-ng-c62182599="" class="ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></source-inline-chip><!----><!----><!----></sources-carousel-inline></p><h3 data-path-to-node="7" style="font-family: "Google Sans", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="7" data-index-in-node="0" style="font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Spiking Bunker Costs and Operational Rerouting Pressures</b></h3><p data-path-to-node="8" id="p-rc_0b4029b482909b1e-146" style="font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><span class="citation-181 citation-end-181" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">A major factor driving the continuation of emergency fees is the recent surge in global marine fuel prices.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c647700645="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c647700645="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="2" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span> <span class="citation-180 citation-end-180" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Following localized supply disruptions and military friction near key refueling hubs, prices for Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) and High Sulfur Fuel Oil (HSFO) at primary regional bunkering stations—such as Fujairah and Singapore—have climbed by up to 24% to 32% since early July.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c647700645="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c647700645="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="3" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span><sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c2554013184="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> <source-inline-chip _ngcontent-ng-c2554013184="" _nghost-ng-c62182599="" class="ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></source-inline-chip><!----><!----><!----></sources-carousel-inline></p><p data-path-to-node="9" id="p-rc_0b4029b482909b1e-147" style="font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><span class="citation-179 citation-end-179" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Major ocean carriers, including CMA CGM, Ocean Network Express (ONE), Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), and A.P. Moller – Maersk, have updated their tariff schedules accordingly.<source-footnote ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c647700645="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><sup _ngcontent-ng-c647700645="" class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="4" style="line-height: 1.15 !important; font-size: 16px !important; background-color: transparent !important;"><!----></sup></source-footnote></span> Surcharges ranging from $75 to $165 per TEU are being applied across long-haul and regional feeder services to absorb the compounding cost of forced Cape of Good Hope reroutings, extended transit times, and surging fuel burn.<sources-carousel-inline ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" _nghost-ng-c2554013184="" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"> <source-inline-chip _ngcontent-ng-c2554013184="" _nghost-ng-c62182599="" class="ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></source-inline-chip><!----><!----><!----></sources-carousel-inline></p><h3 data-path-to-node="11" style="font-family: "Google Sans", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="11" data-index-in-node="0" style="font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Capacity Rationing and Strategic Supply Chain Adjustments</b></h3><p data-path-to-node="12" style="font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Sourcing desks and freight forwarders across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) report that ocean lines are conducting voyage-by-voyage risk evaluations, accepting bookings on a strictly selective basis. To prevent fleet exposure in volatile waters, several consortia are operating dedicated, short-sea recovery loops or utilizing transshipment hubs outside the Gulf chokepoint, such as Oman’s Port of Salalah and Sohar.</p><p data-path-to-node="13" style="font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">"We are managing capacity under an extremely fluid framework," commented a senior vessel operations director based in Dubai. "While commercial traffic is moving, vessel loops cannot fully synchronize until transit safety and marine insurance conditions stabilize permanently. In the interim, emergency surcharges are essential to maintain service continuity and safeguard our fleets."</p><p data-path-to-node="14" style="font-family: "Google Sans Text", sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Logistics procurement managers are being strongly advised to build extended multi-week buffers into their autumn inventory planning and maintain flexible transit arrangements as freight markets adjust to ongoing regional volatility.</p>
Ocean Carriers Maintain Emergency Surcharges as Gulf Shipping Volumes Remain Below Baselines
Despite ongoing diplomatic negotiations in West Asia, commercial shipping throughput through the Strait of Hormuz and the broader Gulf region continues to linger significantly below historic baseline levels. Liner operators maintain that volatile security conditions, heightened marine insurance underwriting requirements, and elevated bunker fuel costs leave them with no choice but to preserve elevated pricing structures to offset severe operational risks.
