A surcharge notice can look simple until someone has to apply it to a shipment list. In the latest August notices, the booking date is often not the deciding field: Maersk uses VGM on one trade, Hapag-Lloyd uses pickup, gate-in or departure milestones in Italy, CMA CGM uses loading date, and Rhine low-water charges can move with the river gauge.
The date-trigger question is familiar ground and covered separately in Which Containers Pay the New August Fuel Surcharges?. This post covers measures where the booking date alone does not answer the question.
What was announced
Seven measures across three carriers, with effective dates running from 7 August to 12 September 2026. The important column is the last one: it tells you which shipment field actually determines whether the published charge applies.
| Carrier | Charge | Scope | Amount | Effective | What decides applicability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maersk | Heavy Weight Surcharge (HWI/HWE) | Imports from worldwide origins to Canada; exports from Canada worldwide | US$600, raised from US$390 | 8 Aug 2026 | Trade scope and applicable tariff; all container types covered |
| Maersk | Heavy Weight Surcharge, Montreal | Imports and exports moving via Montreal | US$390 under the Montreal-specific notices | 7 Aug 2026 | Montreal-specific notices overlap with broader US$600 all-Canada notices effective 8 Aug; verify the applicable tariff for cargo moving on or after that date |
| Maersk | Heavy Load Surcharge (HWS) | Far East Asia to Mexico | US$250 | 26 Aug 2026 | VGM above 20 metric tons on 20ft dry; above 23 metric tons on 40ft non-operating reefer, subject to the applicable price-calculation-date rules |
| Hapag-Lloyd | Inland Fuel Floater | Italy, import and export inland haulage | Truck 15%; combined rail and truck 7.5%; rail-only 0% | 24 Aug 2026; 12 Sep 2026 for FMC-subject shipments | Imports by port pickup date; FMC exports by full-container gate-in at origin; other exports by vessel departure date |
| Hapag-Lloyd | Low Water Surcharge | To and from Manaus, Brazil | US$1,350 per container | Tariffing date on or after 12 Sep 2026 | Tariffing date; all container types |
| CMA CGM | Peak Season Surcharge | North Europe to Red Sea | US$500 per container, a downward adjustment | 1 Sep 2026 | Loading date; all cargo except out-of-gauge |
| CMA CGM | Peak Season Surcharge | Asia to South Africa and Mauritius | US$100 per TEU | 20 Aug 2026, until further notice | Loading date; all cargo |
Montreal is the one to check twice
The Maersk Canada notices create an overlap worth flagging. The carrier published Montreal-specific HWI and HWE notices at US$390 per container effective 7 August. It also published broader import and export notices covering Canada via all locations at US$600 per container effective 8 August.
The public notices do not explain how the Montreal-specific rate interacts with the broader all-Canada rate after 8 August. For Montreal cargo moving under the later effective period, the safer operational step is therefore to check the applicable Maersk tariff rather than assume the US$390 Montreal notice continues to control.
Two other details are easy to miss. CMA CGM’s North Europe to Red Sea PSS at US$500 per container is explicitly a downward adjustment. Hapag-Lloyd, meanwhile, has cancelled the rail-only component of its Italian Inland Fuel Floater, taking it to 0% while truck transport moves to 15%.
The unit also changes between the two CMA CGM announcements. The Red Sea charge is per container. The Asia to South Africa and Mauritius charge is per TEU, so a standard 40ft container attracts US$200 rather than US$100.
On the Rhine, there is more than one kind of low-water charge
The Rhine is where a simple surcharge list stops being enough. Carriers are using several mechanisms at once: gauge-based low-water tariffs, fixed contingency charges for terminals that barges can no longer serve normally, and congestion surcharges on road and rail alternatives.
Maersk maintains a Low Water Surcharge table tied to the Duisburg-Ruhrort, Kaub and Cologne gauges. Separately, it introduced a €625-per-container Andernach Contingency Surcharge on 7 August after barges could no longer call at the terminal. On 12 August it added another fixed contingency charge of €350 per container for cargo moving via Bonn, where barge calls had also stopped.
Hapag-Lloyd also uses gauge bands, but its published table has a defined bottom range at each of four gauges: Kaub, Cologne, Duisburg-Ruhrort and Emmerich. That distinction has become important because the river has now fallen below those published ranges.
MSC has taken both approaches. It has confirmed low-water barge surcharges on Rhine sections while also introducing traffic congestion surcharges for alternative inland transport from and to Antwerp and Rotterdam via inland points including Andernach, Frankfurt, Germersheim, Munich, Nuremberg, Neuss, Strasbourg, Trier and Woerth.
| Carrier | Instrument | Amount | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maersk | Rhine Low Water Surcharge | Varies by gauge and container size | Gauge-based tariff using Duisburg-Ruhrort, Kaub and Cologne; updated 12 Aug |
| Maersk | Andernach Contingency Surcharge | €625 per container | Fixed charge for impacted import and export cargo moving via Andernach; effective 7 Aug until regular barge operations can resume |
| Maersk | Bonn Contingency Surcharge | €350 per container | Fixed charge for impacted import and export cargo moving via Bonn; effective immediately from 12 Aug |
| Hapag-Lloyd | Rhine Low Water Surcharge | Published bands vary by gauge and container size | Gauge-based; current readings are below the lowest published tariff ranges at all four reference gauges |
| MSC | Rhine barge surcharge | €1,350 per TEU confirmed for the Kaub section | Cologne had been €895 per TEU, but the latest gauge reading has moved below the reported tariff range; Duisburg-Ruhrort was already subject to individual agreement |
| MSC | Traffic congestion surcharge | €44 per container by truck; €50 by rail or combined rail-road for Germany/Alsace origin or destination loads | Fixed alternative-mode surcharge effective 20 Aug |
The gauges have moved beyond some published tariff tables
The latest scheduled ELWIS readings available at the time of writing, recorded at 21:00 CEST on 12 August, were 12 cm at Kaub, 53 cm at Cologne, 137 cm at Duisburg-Ruhrort and -10 cm at Emmerich.
For Hapag-Lloyd, every one of those readings is below the bottom of its published surcharge table. Its lowest listed bands end at 41 cm at Kaub, 76 cm at Cologne, 151 cm at Duisburg-Ruhrort and 1 cm at Emmerich. Hapag-Lloyd separately states that transportation cannot be guaranteed at or below 80 cm at Kaub, 105 cm at Cologne, 180 cm at Duisburg-Ruhrort or 30 cm at Emmerich.
That means the published Hapag-Lloyd table no longer provides a tariff amount for the current readings. It does not mean a particular replacement rate can be inferred: the carrier’s notice says transportation cannot be guaranteed, so the current shipment position needs to be checked directly.
Maersk’s structure is different. Its 12 August table extends into much lower water levels, but it states that once Kaub falls below 81 cm or Duisburg-Ruhrort below 181 cm, a loading guarantee can no longer be provided. Both gauges are now far below those thresholds.
MSC illustrates the same operational problem from another angle. The carrier had confirmed €895 per TEU for its Cologne gauge section when Cologne stood at 55 cm, which contemporaneous reporting described as one centimetre from the level requiring individual agreement. The latest ELWIS reading is 53 cm. Duisburg-Ruhrort was already being handled by individual agreement.
What to check before you quote
The useful field is not always the booking date. For Maersk’s Mexico HWS, check the VGM and the applicable price-calculation date. For Hapag-Lloyd’s Italy fuel charge, check the shipment milestone used for tariffing. For Montreal, check which Maersk Canada tariff actually applies. On the Rhine, check the inland route, transport mode, latest gauge reading and whether the carrier is still guaranteeing the planned barge movement.
At the current Rhine levels, the final point matters most. A surcharge can be calculated only if the underlying movement remains operationally available.
Further Reading
- Maersk: Heavy Weight Surcharge – Import – World via all locations to Canada and export from Canada to World
- Maersk: Montreal-specific Heavy Weight Surcharge – Import and Export
- Maersk: Heavy Load Surcharge – Far East Asia to Mexico
- Hapag-Lloyd: Italy Inland Fuel Floater update and Manaus Low Water Surcharge
- CMA CGM: North Europe to Red Sea PSS and Asia to South Africa and Mauritius PSS
- Maersk: Rhine Low Water Surcharge update, Andernach contingency and Bonn contingency
- Hapag-Lloyd: Rhine River Low Water Surcharge
- The Loadstar: Rhine barge surcharges and MSC levels and MSC road and rail congestion surcharges
- ELWIS: Rhine water levels and forecasts
Carrier amounts, effective dates, scope and tariffing rules are taken from the Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM notices listed above. MSC’s Rhine surcharge figures are based on contemporaneous reporting by The Loadstar because the underlying customer notices were not publicly indexed at the time of writing. Rhine gauge readings are from Germany’s ELWIS waterway information service and reflect the latest scheduled reading available at 21:00 CEST on 12 August 2026. Low-water conditions and carrier tariffs can change quickly; confirm the applicable charge against the current carrier tariff and relevant shipment or barge-departure milestone before quoting. Status confirmed 13 August 2026.
Need help interpreting this disruption or your shipment?
For a quick question, chat with Tradlinx on WhatsApp. For a deeper discussion, book a time below.
Prefer email? Contact us directly at min.so@tradlinx.com (Americas), sondre.lyndon@tradlinx.com (Europe), or henry.jo@tradlinx.com (EMEA/Asia).
Leave a Reply