Double trouble for India-Europe shipping: Maersk to hit exporters with 2 major tariff changes from August 1

Shipping giant Maersk will increase its tariffs on India-Europe container cargo flow from August 1 this year, which is expected to hit overall freight costs.

Specifically, the hikes under the Emergency Contingency Surcharge (ECS) will affect outbound cargo from Indian ports to various parts of northern Europe, rising by $1,000 (about ₹96,500) each.

ECS refers to an additional freight charge added to offset disruptions in container shipping such as route congestion, bottlenecks, missed voyages, and equipment shortages.

For cargo originating from ports in South and East India—Ennore, Chennai, Kattupalli, Tuticorin, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Cochin, Mangalore and Kolkata—the ECS for shipments to North Europe will shoot up from $2,800 (₹2.70 lakh) per TEU to $3,800 (₹3.6 lakh).

For cargo from North West India, which includes the Mundra, Jawaharlal Nehru, Hazira and Pipavav ports, the ECS will rise from $2,500 (₹2.41 lakh) per TEU to $3,500 (₹3.37 lakh).

Cargo shipments from northwestern India to North Europe will also be hit with a Heavy Load Surcharge (HWS) of $2,000 (₹1.93 lakh) per overweight TEU (per container that exceeds a gross weight of 22 metric tonnes).

The HWS will also come into effect from August 1 onwards.

Notably, Europe is an important destination for Indian exports such as textiles, automobile components, leather products, and pharmaceuticals.

This means that bringing in surcharges is bound to exponentially impact final logistics charges for these commodities, in turn affecting profit margins as the four-month-long war in the Gulf rages on, and continues to hit global supply chains.

These developments also come on the heels of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which will see the EU will open 97 per cent of its tariff lines for India, covering 99.5 per cent of India's exports by value.

This would translate into roughly $33 billion of Indian exports from labour-intensive sectors gaining zero-duty access to EU markets, which would offset shipping surcharges that are expected to be adopted by other shipping lines as well.

However, the India-EU FTA is yet to be signed, as it is undergoing final vetting on both sides before it can come into force, likely by the end of 2026.

For now, all eyes are on how other shipping lines will follow Maersk's move, and how Indian exporters will respond to the sharp spikes in maritime tariffs.