Maersk Terminal Handling Charges Change in October: Rates, Markets and Pricing Dates

Maersk has filed new terminal handling charges (OHC and DHC) for at least 25 markets across Europe and the Mediterranean, from Norway to Israel and Georgia, effective 1 October 2026. A further round of terminal handling revisions across Latin America and the Caribbean follows on 15 October. On 1 October Maersk also starts billing a new port security charge on export cargo loaded in the United States and Canada.

The exposure sits in quotes already issued. A container priced in September can still be billed at the October level, and the date that decides it changes with the booking type. For FMC-regulated cargo it is the gate-in of the booking’s last container, so one box that reaches the terminal a day late can move the whole booking onto the new tariff.

Maersk’s October 2026 terminal handling changes

Maersk attributes the revisions to higher port-related and operational costs. Every advisory in the round gives the new level only and runs until further notice.

Europe and the Mediterranean: 1 October

The table covers seven of the largest European gateway countries. Each advisory quotes one rate for all dry containers and one for all reefers, with no split by container size. A 20-foot box pays the same handling as a 40-foot.

Market	Dry (OHC / DHC)	Reefer (OHC / DHC)	Notes
Germany	EUR 300	EUR 450
Netherlands	EUR 285	EUR 395
Belgium	EUR 275	EUR 395
France	EUR 274	EUR 388 OHC / EUR 390 DHC	Special containers EUR 345
Spain	EUR 278	EUR 402	Dry rate includes dangerous cargo
Italy	EUR 240	EUR 340	Dangerous dry cargo EUR 325
United Kingdom	GBP 220	GBP 328	Quoted in sterling

Maersk OHC/DHC per container, effective 1 October 2026 until further notice. OHC and DHC are the same level unless shown separately. Source: Maersk rate announcements, 1 September 2026.

The same 1 October date also applies in Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden and Turkey. Finland’s advisory also revises the Import Service (IMP) charge. Croatia’s revises dry handling and leaves reefer handling at its current level.

Panama, Latin America and the Caribbean: 15 October

Maersk published the Panama revision on its own site. The other nine markets shown below are as reported by Container News on 17 September. Maersk has published additional 15 October revisions for other markets across the region. All rates are in US dollars per container.

Market	Dry (OHC / DHC)	Reefer (OHC / DHC)
Panama (Balboa, Cristobal)	265	285
Panama (Manzanillo)	275	295
Peru (excluding Paita)	115	115
Peru (Paita)	125	125
Ecuador (Posorja)	200	215
Ecuador (other ports)	215	230
Costa Rica (Puerto Caldera)	240 OHC / 260 DHC	280
Costa Rica (Moín)	480	645
El Salvador	260	270
Dominican Republic	255	325
Puerto Rico	250	265
Trinidad and Tobago	345	345
Curaçao	350 OHC / 750 DHC	350 OHC / 750 DHC
Uruguay	370	405

Maersk OHC/DHC per container in USD, effective 15 October 2026. Panama from Maersk’s 16 September advisory; other markets as reported by Container News, 17 September 2026.

Curaçao is the outlier. For both dry and reefer, destination handling at USD 750 is more than double the origin charge.

Which date decides the Maersk THC you pay?

Maersk retrieves the rate on a Price Calculation Date (PCD), and the October advisories set that date by booking type. Non-spot bookings outside FMC jurisdiction use the scheduled departure of the first water leg as recorded at booking confirmation. FMC-regulated non-spot bookings use the gate-in date of the last container, and spot bookings in the European round use the first vessel’s ETD at booking confirmation.

In practice, FMC-regulated means cargo moving to or from the United States. Two of those dates freeze when the booking is confirmed, while the FMC date stays open until the last box is physically in the terminal.

Booking type	Date that sets the rate	Fixed at confirmation?
Non-spot, non-FMC	Scheduled departure of the first water leg, as at booking confirmation	Yes
Non-spot, FMC-regulated	Gate-in date of the last container	No, it moves with the cargo
Spot (European advisories)	First vessel ETD at booking confirmation	Yes
Spot (Panama advisory)	Booking confirmation date or first vessel ETD at booking confirmation, both printed	Unclear
Port security charge, US-loaded	Date Maersk takes possession of the final container on the B/L	No
Port security charge, Canada-loaded	Vessel’s scheduled sailing date	Advisory does not say

Pricing triggers as worded in Maersk’s October 2026 advisories.

The trap is a familiar one. In July, four carriers moved Indian Subcontinent pricing on different clocks. The October round repeats the pattern inside a single carrier’s local charges.

FMC cargo: the last container’s gate-in sets the rate

Gate-in is the laden container entering the terminal. For FMC-regulated non-spot bookings, the advisories tie the tariff to the gate-in of the last container on the booking.

Worked example. Take a non-spot booking of four dry containers from Hamburg to Savannah, confirmed in mid-September for a sailing in the first week of October. Three boxes gate in on 29 and 30 September. The fourth is held at the shipper’s warehouse and reaches the terminal on 1 October. On the advisory’s wording, the booking’s PCD is 1 October and Germany’s OHC applies at the new EUR 300 per container. Had the fourth box made the gate on 30 September, the booking would have priced at the level in force before the change.

The rule reaches destination charges too. A US export to Rotterdam whose last box gates in at Charleston on 28 September prices its Netherlands DHC at the pre-October level, although the container will not be discharged in Rotterdam until mid-October.

This is where September quotes can go wrong quietly. The commercial price may have been quoted earlier, while the applicable PCD for an FMC non-spot booking continues to move until the last container gates in. Which side of the change a booking lands on is a gate-in question. Container-level gate-in events answer it days before the invoice does. One question worth putting to Maersk before 1 October is whether moving a late container onto its own booking changes the pricing date for the rest.

If you are sorting October bookings by which side of the cut-off their last box will gate in, see how ops teams track gate-in events per container across carriers.

Non-FMC cargo: the schedule at booking confirmation

Outside FMC trades, the date is fixed when the booking is confirmed, and it is the scheduled departure of the first water leg at that moment. A Rotterdam to Shanghai booking confirmed on 20 September against a 29 September departure prices at the pre-October Netherlands OHC, even if the vessel slips to 2 October.

The reverse case catches people out. A booking confirmed in September against a 2 October departure takes the new EUR 285, even if every box is in the terminal by 25 September.

The advisories do not say what happens when a booking is rolled and re-confirmed on a later vessel. Ask Maersk before assuming the original date survives a roll.

Spot bookings: check the Panama wording

The European advisories price spot bookings on the first vessel’s ETD at booking confirmation. Maersk’s Panama advisory prints two options inside square brackets, booking confirmation date or first vessel ETD at booking confirmation, and does not say which one applies. Container News’ summary of the Latin America round also leaves the choice to the booking terms.

For Panama and Latin America spot cargo booked around 15 October, get the trigger confirmed in writing before you quote.

A new port security charge on US and Canada exports

From 1 October, Maersk bills a Port Security Service Export charge of USD 15 per container loaded in the US and USD 12 per container loaded in Canada. It is assessed prepaid unless shipping instructions say otherwise.

It runs on its own trigger. For FMC-regulated cargo, including exempt cargo loaded at US ports, the effective date follows the date Maersk takes possession of the final container on the B/L. For Canadian loadings it follows the vessel’s scheduled sailing date. The advisory does not define exactly when Maersk considers itself to have “taken possession,” so carrier-haulage moves are worth confirming directly with Maersk.

A US export to Germany whose last box gates in at the US terminal on 1 October picks up both changes: the new security charge at origin and Germany’s new DHC at destination.

What the advisories leave out

No previous level. None of the October advisories states the rate it replaces. To size the change on a live quote, pull your current level from Maersk’s Tariff Lookup or a recent invoice before 1 October.

Page summaries can be wrong. Maersk’s own summary line for the UK advisory quotes the rate in euros. The tariff table underneath is in sterling, at GBP 220 dry and GBP 328 reefer. Quote from the table.

Surcharges stack. Each advisory states that the new THC is subject to other applicable surcharges, including local and contingency charges. THC is one of several lines that can move on an October invoice.

Contracts can override the tariff on US trades. For trades under the US Shipping Act, Maersk states that quotations or surcharges that differ from its tariff bind Maersk only when written into a service contract or amendment filed with the FMC. If your contract fixes THC or makes it inclusive, check that before re-quoting. Our breakdown of port-level surcharges covers which local charges are open to negotiation.

What to re-check before 1 October

Tag every open Maersk booking touching these markets as spot, non-spot non-FMC or non-spot FMC. The tag decides which date you watch.
For FMC bookings, track the gate-in of the last container and flag any box that could slip past 30 September (14 October for Panama and Latin America).
For non-FMC bookings, record the scheduled first-leg departure on the confirmation. That date governs even if the sailing moves.
For spot cargo in Panama or Latin America, get the pricing trigger confirmed in writing.
Pull your current THC for each market from Tariff Lookup or a recent invoice to size the change per box.
Add USD 15 per container to US-loaded exports from 1 October, or USD 12 for Canadian loadings, prepaid unless your shipping instructions say otherwise.
On October invoices, check each THC line against the pricing date your own gate-in and confirmation records support.

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