Shipping Arabia, November 15, 2026 – Maersk has announced a Heavy Load Surcharge of up to $400 per container on shipments from the Far East to Mediterranean destinations, including Egypt. The revised charge will take effect from November 23, 2026, and applies to all types of 20-foot containers with a Verified Gross Mass (VGM) exceeding 25 metric tons.
The shipping line confirmed that the surcharge applies when a qualifying container exceeds the specified weight threshold. The adjustment covers a wide range of container equipment and shipments originating from 16 Far East markets.
The revised charge will apply from the November 23 pricing calculation date, covering shipments to Mediterranean markets and certain other European destinations served through Mediterranean discharge ports.
Maersk Heavy Load Surcharge: Origin and Destination Markets
The new surcharge covers shipments originating from 16 Far East markets. These include Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Cambodia, Mongolia, South Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
On the destination side, Maersk has identified 24 countries within the geographical scope of the measure. The list includes Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Israel and Cyprus.
European destinations covered by the announcement include Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Ukraine.
In addition to these specified markets, the surcharge extends to other European destinations where the final port of discharge is located in the Mediterranean region.
The geographical coverage therefore includes shipments to several North African and Eastern Mediterranean markets, alongside European destinations served through Mediterranean ports.
Heavy Load Surcharge Applies Across All 20-Foot Container Types
Maersk confirmed that the new Heavy Load Surcharge applies to all types of 20-foot containers when their Verified Gross Mass exceeds 25 metric tons.
The equipment categories covered by the announcement include standard dry containers, bulk containers, refrigerated containers and tank containers. Specialized equipment is also included, such as open-top containers, flat racks and collapsible flat racks.
Other container types identified in the announcement include pallet-wide containers, Hive containers and twin-deck containers.
The surcharge is determined by the container’s verified gross weight rather than its equipment category. Accordingly, any of the specified 20-foot container types exceeding the 25-metric-ton threshold falls within the scope of the measure.
For qualifying containers, the additional charge can reach $400 per unit. The adjustment applies to shipments within the specified origin and destination markets from the announced effective date.
Maersk’s Position in Egyptian Container Traffic
The announcement also concerns Egypt, where Maersk accounted for a substantial share of container traffic during 2025.
According to Al Mal, Maersk ranked first among shipping lines serving Egyptian ports last year. The carrier handled approximately 2.7 million containers, representing a reported 24% share of container traffic.
The publication also highlighted the importance of transit shipments within Maersk’s Egyptian port operations, citing a transit-related figure of 89.2%. It reported that total transit container throughput across Egyptian ports reached approximately 3.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) during 2025.
Egypt is among the destinations explicitly covered by the revised surcharge. Consequently, qualifying 20-foot containers shipped from the listed Far East origins to Egyptian ports will fall under the new charging arrangement from November 23, 2026.
Source: Al Mal