Two carrier notices published in the first week of November show how a freight bill grows after the booking is made. Hapag-Lloyd will charge a Peak Season Surcharge of US$500 per 20-foot reefer and US$500 per 40-foot high-cube reefer from Karachi and Port Qasim. The charge covers sailings to the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar from 16 to 30 November 20261. The carrier had already set a US$500 PSS on Pakistan reefers to selected UAE ports for sailings from 1 to 15 November4. In Kenya, Ocean Network Express (ONE) will add a 12% Emergency Inland Fuel Premium on rail services for cargo loaded or discharged there2.
Both charges sit on top of the base ocean rate. Both will land on invoices for cargo that buyers have already priced.
Base freight is only the first line
A freight rate is the price for delivering cargo from one point to another, and it depends on the mode, weight, distance and goods5. The base ocean rate covers the port-to-port leg. Carriers bill other costs separately, each with its own code, scope and rules6.
Peak season surcharges (PSS) are time-limited add-ons when demand is high; Hapag-Lloyd's Pakistan to Gulf charge is one1. Fuel is the second group. Swire Shipping will raise its Emergency Bunker Surcharge from 15 November 2026. The charge rises to US$535 per 20-foot and US$1,070 per 40-foot container, and applies in addition to the prevailing bunker adjustment factor7.
Security charges are a third group. CMA CGM will charge US$35 per TEU, the standard 20-foot container unit, for war risk on Black Sea cargo from 9 November 20266. MSC will charge US$55 per TEU for piracy risk and US$36 per TEU for Suez Canal transits from 15 November 2026, a combined US$91 per TEU8.
Operational charges follow. CMA CGM will charge US$100 per container for congestion at Beira from 15 November 20269. It will charge US$300 for 20-foot dry containers above 18 tonnes moving from China to Indian Ocean destinations9. Maersk has set dry port surcharges at Virochannagar in India, including INR 6,770 per 20-foot dry container for exports10.
The charges can stack. Swire's emergency fuel charge is additional to a bunker adjustment factor7. CMA CGM says its war risk and dangerous goods charges are separate from bunker surcharges, terminal handling and local fees6. A carrier can also absorb a charge: CMA CGM says it may include its Reunion peak season surcharge in the ocean freight instead9. Two quotes for the same box can therefore look different and both be correct.
The notice, the tariff and the 30-day rule
In the United States the rule is written down. Under 46 CFR 520.8, no new rate or charge, or change to an existing one, that raises a shipper's cost may take effect earlier than 30 calendar days after publication3. Decreases, and amendments with no cost change, may take effect on publication3.
Carriers reflect that by giving two dates in one notice. ONE's Kenyan fuel premium starts on 18 November 2026 for trades outside Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) rules and on 4 December 2026 for FMC-regulated trades and Canada2. CMA CGM's Black Sea war risk charge starts on 9 November 2026. It starts on 1 December 2026 for the US and its territories, Australia, New Zealand and Latin American countries subject to filing rules6. CMA CGM's Beira congestion charge runs from 15 November, against 30 November for countries with filing requirements9.
The 30-day clock is a US filing rule, not a global one3. Lanes outside FMC scope, including UK and EU lanes in these notices, take the earlier date2. In the EU, the European Commission says most regulations granting sector-specific exemptions in transport have now been repealed11. In practice, buyers outside the US rely on the carrier's published tariff and on the contract, not on a statutory notice period2.
The published tariff is the default. ONE said charges that differ from its published tariff can apply only when formally agreed in a service contract or filed with the relevant regulator; otherwise the tariff applies2.
What the contract can cap
A service contract can turn a moving charge into a fixed price, but only if it is written that way. An all-in rate leaves a later PSS nowhere to attach unless the contract allows it2. A contract priced as ocean freight plus applicable surcharges is open-ended, and the carrier's tariff sets the amount2.
FMC rules add discipline to US trades. A carrier's published statement of service contract rules and notices may not be uncertain, vague or ambiguous12. A clause that lets the carrier add any surcharge it later notifies points the other way.
Index linking is the middle path. Drewry describes its World Container Index as a reference for index-linked contracts. On 5 November 2026 the index fell 1% to US$4,389 per 40ft and was 124% higher than a year earlier13. A bunker clause can work the same way, with a named index, a trigger level and a cap.
How to audit a freight invoice
Freight audit means checking freight bills for accuracy14. Ocean pricing makes that hard, because rates, surcharges and contract conditions vary by vendor, lane and effective date14. A short checklist covers most of the risk:
- Effective date: compare the bill of lading date, which fixes the shipment date, with the start date for your trade, not just the first date in the notice2, 6.
- Scope: check origin, destination and equipment. Hapag's first Pakistan charge covered selected UAE ports; the extension adds Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar1, 4.
- Basis: per container, per TEU or a percentage. ONE's premium is 12% of the inland base rate, not a flat fee2.
- Duplication: a fuel surcharge can sit alongside a bunker adjustment factor7.
- Absorption: check whether the carrier has already folded the charge into the ocean rate9.
- Authority: the charge must appear in the tariff or the contract2.
Common questions
Is a peak season surcharge the same as a general rate increase?
No. A PSS is an add-on with a stated window, such as Hapag-Lloyd's 16 to 30 November sailings1. A general increase changes the base rate itself. Drewry says carriers are pushing FAK, or freight all kinds, increases in mid-November as they position for 2027 contract talks13.
Can a carrier add a charge after I book?
On a tariff booking, yes, subject to the notice rules for that trade3. On an all-in contract rate, only if the contract allows it2.
Why does one notice carry two start dates?
Because cost-increasing tariff changes on US-regulated trades need 30 calendar days' notice3. Carriers apply the later date to those trades and to other countries with filing rules2, 6.