Japanese ocean carrier NYK Line imposed port congestion surcharges on containerized shipments moving through Port of Chennai, and other lines hiked their bottleneck fees for cargo through the Indian port.
Chennai, India’s second-largest container hub after Nhava Sheva, has been confronted with severe terminal congestion and berthing delays over the past two-and-a-half months, prompting shippers and carriers to divert cargo to other gateway ports in the region. NYK’s surcharges will be $140 per 20-foot container and $280 per 40-foot container.
The charges starting Oct. 21 follow an $85 per-TEU surcharge announcement by French carrier CMA-CGM on all cargo moving to and from the southeastern hub, effective Sept. 1.
Meanwhile, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and Hapag-Lloyd hiked their Chennai congestion fees to $75 per TEU and $150 per FEU, and $100 and $200, respectively, as of Sept. 1, citing a continued deterioration in port conditions.
“The situation at Chennai Port is still pathetic. It is expected to take at least two to three months for some real improvement,” a leading shipping line agent said.
According to a port update as of Monday morning, the terminal yard inventory totaled more than 19,000 TEUs with imports accounting for about 12,500 TEUs.
The Journal of Commerce Online
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