Bayo Akomolafe 
A German-based liner, CMA CGM, has introduced four surcharges totaling $2,100 within two months. The surcharges is expected to translate to $378 million in one year as the company ferried about 180,000 containers to Nigerian ports annually.
It listed the surcharges as Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) and Emergency Operational Recovery (EOR), noting in April that importers and exporters of the direct weekly shipping link between major European and Asian markets to Tin Can Island Port, Lagos and Onne port, Rivers State would pay a $400 surcharge, which will take effect from June 1, 2025.
It stressed that PSS on dry cargo shipments from Asia to West Africa ports, wS $400 per Twenry Equivalent Units (TEUs).
Also, the liner introduced an EOR surcharge of $100 per container for shipments from Europe and the Mediterranean to West Africa.
The company had initially announced a PSS of $400 per TEU on dry cargo shipments originating from Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, China, Hong Kong and Macau SAR, destined for ports in Nigeria and West Africa, saying that the surcharge was effective from June 1, 2025.
However barely a week, it slammed another surcharge titled Doubled PSS, saying it has increased the PSS by 100 pee cent from $400 to $800 per TEU, for direct cargo shipments between Asian countries and West African countries, including Nigeria, stressing that the increase was effective from June 7, 2025.
In March, the company also imposed $800 PSS and EOR per container on importers using Nigeria ports, saying that PSS attracted $700 per and $100 per container for EOR.
According to the company, shippers lifting cargoes from North Europe, West Mediterranean, East Mediterranean, Black Sea & North Africa (including Morocco) and Mauritania to Nigeria and other West African ports would pay the surcharges from April 1 2025.
It added: “Following recent operational constraints faced in Europe and West Africa and in order to continue ensuring service continuity, CMA CGM wishes to inform its customers of the implementation of an Emergency Operational Recovery surcharge as follows.”
Recall that in April 2024, the liner introduced a separate surcharge of $500 per TEU from North and Central China to “the West Africa South Range,” covering destinations such as Angola, Congo, DRC, Namibia, Gabon and Cameroon, saying both surcharges are applicable to dry cargo.
In March, the shipping line imposed a surcharge of $100 on every dry bulk cargo coming from Egypt to all Nigerian ports.
The liner informed importers that it would implement PSS surcharge from March 4th, 2024, being the loading date until further notice, explaining that considering the current situation in Egypt, the charges on dry cargoes would also affect shipment to Nigeria and other West African ports, adding that the PSS would be paid with freight.
In January, 2024, CMA CGM slammed surcharges on dry and reefer cargoes leaving Lagos ports to Middle East Gulf and Indian sub-continent, noting that the cargoes would attract between $200 and $500 per TEU till further notice.
Before the introduction of the delay and diversion surcharges, some of the arbitrary charges paid in the past are the bunker adjustment, currency adjustment, war risk, extra risk insurance surcharge, freight rates surcharge and port operations recovery surcharge.
Others are Basic Service Rate Additional (BSRA), Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF), Currency Adjustment Factor (CAF) IMO, ISPS or SEC security charges, Terminal Handling Charge (THC), Full Container Load shipments, Heavy Weight Charge (HWC), Overweight Surcharge (OWS) Port Congestion Surcharge, Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) and Winter Surcharge (WS).
