Maersk has more than doubled the lift-on/lift-off (lo-lo) charge on empty containers at Mundra, India's busiest container port, and told customers to pay depot operators directly. From 1 November it is $51 per 20ft empty and $67 per 40ft, against $23 and $31, with local taxes extra1. For buyers, a small fixed line inside the carrier's tariff has become a separate third-party charge. The model behind it faces a threatened boycott at Chennai from 15 November1.
Lo-lo is the fee for lifting an empty box on and off at a yard. Your team now needs the carrier's tariff and the yard's rate card to check one charge, because the two no longer arrive together1, 2.
What the repricing adds to a box
At Mundra the new rate applies to every empty handled from 1 November, at more than double the old levels1. At Chennai and Ennore, Hapag-Lloyd moved payment to the yard from 1 November 2026. It published INR 725 per 20ft and INR 975 per 40ft, plus GST, paid by NEFT or UPI only. A tax invoice needs the company name, billing address, GSTIN and invoice email2. A buyer without those details may not receive a valid tax invoice, which can disrupt container pick-up or drop-off.
Where the exposure is concentrated
Mundra handles about 1.6 million TEU of empty containers a year and close to 35% of India's container trade, according to owner Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone3, 4. JNPA accounts for around 50% of containerised cargo at the major ports5. Chennai is the country's second-largest container port6. For a 40ft box, the $67 charge is small next to Drewry's World Container Index of $4,389 per 40ft on 5 November, a global composite benchmark7. It is charged per box, though, and it lands on equipment that moves with every stuffed export and every returned import.
Other lines and gateways
Sources told The Loadstar they expect other carriers to issue similar Mundra notices. One liner source said: "We are discussing the matter"1. Some carriers at JNPA already let nominated yards collect lo-lo charges directly1. Buyers with contracts quoting all-in freight should ask now whether depot charges stay inside the rate or move outside it.
Chennai: a threatened boycott, not a stoppage
The Chennai Customs Brokers Association (CCBA) says MSC led the practice of routing empty container collections through third-party depot vendors, and that other lines copied it. Vendors have kept inflating tariffs once they took over collection, the association argues. It said: "Allowing third-party vendors to collect additional charges without adequate transparency or accountability would create an open-ended financial burden on the export/import trade, particularly customs brokers"1.
Its members are caught in the middle, it added, with exporters and importers refusing to reimburse add-ons that reach final customer bills. The association has threatened to boycott MSC shipments unless the practice is reversed by 15 November. It told The Loadstar it would take the same stance with other lines1. The Loadstar's 9 November report did not mention any reversal1.
For a buyer, a threat is not a stoppage. Customs brokers handle documentation and clearance, so a boycott would likely affect MSC bookings handled by CCBA member firms, not every box at Chennai. Cargo due in the window around 15 November needs a written answer from the carrier and from the broker.
What the last dispute cost
Mundra's empty container yards stopped work for 13 days, from 28 August to 10 September 2026. Adani Ports had restricted empty nominations to designated facilities inside the port SEZ. Operators resumed on 10 September after talks with industry and government officials3. Hapag-Lloyd suspended empty allotments for factory stuffing and empty gate-ins, while container freight station work continued8. Exporters who relied on factory stuffing had no empty allotments while the yards were shut.
The direction was different two years ago. In September 2024 a high-level government meeting brought carriers, Concor and port officials together. Concor was asked to allow 90 days of free empty storage at Nhava Sheva, and foreign carriers promised downward adjustments to lo-lo charges at storage yards9. Buyers who budgeted on that promise are now facing a charge moving the other way at Mundra1.
Contract terms and invoice audit
Because Maersk directs payment to the depot, the charge is likely to sit outside the carrier's invoice. Check which document carries it, and whether your contract covers it, because a split paper trail makes the rate harder to dispute. Maersk is also pulling lines out of quoted rates elsewhere. In Finland it stopped including port dues in inland haulage rates from 1 October and lists them as "subject to" charges, so customers must assess them separately when comparing quotes10. Ask whether an India rate is all-in or excludes depot and yard charges, and write the answer into the contract.
Common questions
Who pays the empty container lo-lo charge at Mundra?
Under Maersk's notice, customers are asked to pay the nominated depot directly1. Which side of the sale bears it depends on the terms of sale and on what the forwarder passes on11. Exporters who arrange their own empties are likely to pay at pick-up, and buyers on delivered terms may find the charge priced in rather than shown as a separate line.
Is there an MSC boycott at Chennai from 15 November?
It is a threatened boycott by the Chennai Customs Brokers Association, not an announced stoppage. The association said it would act if the practice is not reversed by 15 November, and The Loadstar's 9 November report, which quoted the association, mentioned no reversal1. MSC has not published a response in the report.