Freight Pulse & Law Update: Maersk Tacks on $4,800 Hormuz Fees as Panama Canal Cuts Transits

The freight outlook tightened again on September 12, 2026. Maersk added emergency Gulf charges, Panama Canal capacity is falling, and new FMC disputes reinforce the need for documented, real-time supply chain control.

What are Maersk’s new Hormuz charges?

Maersk’s emergency freight rates apply to cargo moving to or from Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Oman excluding Salalah, and Saudi Arabia’s Dammam and Jubail:

• $1,800 per 20-foot dry container

• $3,000 per 40-foot dry container

• $3,800 per reefer, special, or dangerous container

• An additional $1,000 per container for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz

That puts a reefer or dangerous-goods container at up to $4,800 in emergency charges, before base freight and other surcharges. Maersk’s operational update also identifies storage and routing disruption as key cost drivers.

How will Panama Canal cuts affect shippers?

The Panama Canal is reducing daily transits to 34 and then 32 beginning September 15. Shippers that reroute through the Cape of Good Hope should model 10–19 additional sailing days, higher bunker consumption, and increased exposure to cold-weather, swell, and weather-routing risks. Reuters reports on the canal restrictions.

What do the latest FMC cases signal?

Samsung’s $186 million FMC complaint against CMA CGM alleges pandemic-era inland transportation failures and unreasonable demurrage billing. Separately, an FMC judge rejected Peloton’s $33.7 million demurrage claim against Flexport, finding insufficient proof of per-container Shipping Act violations. The Samsung filing highlights why contracts, timestamps, delivery records, and charge-level evidence matter.

What should logistics teams do now?

The World Shipping Council is urging the IMO to create container-level energy thresholds for lithium battery cargo under SP188. Shippers should also review dangerous-goods declarations and prepare for the next CVSA Brake Safety Week inspection cycle.

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