Maersk and CMA CGM, two of the world's largest shipping firms, will impose extra charges after deciding to re-route ships following attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, as worries about the disruption to global trade grow.
The surcharges, designed to cover longer voyages around Africa compared with routes via the Suez Canal, will add to rising costs for sea transport since Yemen's Houthi militant group started targeting vessels.
Maersk and CMA CGM are among leading shipping lines to have suspended the passage of vessels through the Red Sea that connects with the key Suez Canal, the quickest sea route between Asia and Europe.
Instead, they are directing ships around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, adding about ten days to a journey that would normally take about 27 days from China to northern Europe.
Citing "severe operational disruption", Maersk said late on Thursday that additional payments include an immediate transit disruption surcharge (TDS) to cover extra costs associated with the longer journey as well as a peak season surcharge (PSS) from 1 January.
Earlier today, Chinese automaker Geely told Reuters its electric vehicle sales were likely to be hurt by a delay in deliveries to Europe, the latest company to warn of disruption.
China's second largest automaker by sales said most of the shipping firms it uses for European exports have plans to go around southern Africa.
The alert bodes ill for other automakers in China as they seek to increase exports to Europe due to overcapacity and weak demand at home.
The United States has announced a multinational force to patrol the Red Sea, but shipping sources say details have yet to emerge and companies continue to avoid the zone.
In a message to customers, logistics firm CH Robinson Worldwide said it had rerouted more than 25 vessels to southern Africa over the past week.
"That number will likely continue to grow due to ongoing war risks in the Red Sea and the drought in the Panama Canal," it said.
It said cancellations and rate increases were expected to continue into the first quarter and recommended customers book 4-6 weeks in advance to ensure space on vessels.
In total, Maersk said a standard 20ft container travelling from China to Northern Europe now faced an extra charge of $700, consisting of a $200 TDS and $500 PSS.
Containers bound for the east coast of North America will be charged $500 each, consisting of the $200 TDS payment and a $300PSS, the company added.
Maersk also said routes in other parts of its network would be affected by the Suez disruption, triggering emergency contingency surcharges on a wide range of journeys.
CMA CGM also announced surcharges late on Thursday, including an extra $325 per 20ft container on the North Europe to Asia route and $500 per 20ft container for Asia to the Mediterranean.
The charges were part of its contingency plan to reroute vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, it said.
France-based CMA CGM listed 22 of its vessels as having been re-routed.
A crisis at a single point in the supply chain can cause ships to bunch up, upending arrival and departure schedules at seaports and cascading delays throughout the system, said Christian Sur, executive vice president of ocean freight at Unique Logistics.
The cost to ship a container from China to the Mediterranean was up 44% in December alone to reach $2,413, due to the Red Sea disruptions, Freightos said earlier this week.
If the conflict persists or intensifies those so-called "spot" prices for cargo that is not under contract "could double or triple from current levels," Sur said.
Global furniture seller IKEA is among the shippers warning of potential cargo delays and product shortages. Elsewhere, Finnish elevator maker Kone estimated that some shipments could be delayed by two to three weeks.
While goods that travel by container, including clothes, toys and food, are most at risk - other products are being affected.
US soybean exporters, who were already switching shipments from the drought-stricken Panama Canal to the Suez Canal, are weighing whether to start putting crops on trains to the West Coast to access ships that go directly to China and other Asian markets to avoid significantly longer alternate voyages around South America or Africa.
"You've got all these imperfect options available," Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition.
Analysts warned that some retailers could start running low on some goods by February, though after the Covid-19 pandemic more companies have sought resilience in supply chains by buying from exporters in different regions.
"We are more experienced having gone though Covid," said Sur, whose firm counts retailers among its clients.
Greece said yesterday it would send a naval frigate to the area to help protect shipping as part of a multinational coalition announced by the US to ensure safe passage through the waterway.
Greek ship-owners control about 20% of the world's commercial vessels in terms of carrying capacity.
However, several countries the US said would join the coalition have signalled they do not expect to send much naval power to the region while Saudi Arabia, which borders the Red Sea, was not listed as taking part.
The Houthi leader has meanwhile threatened to escalate attacks to include US naval ships, raising the prospect of a wider conflict around the Bab al-Mandab strait.
A Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson said one of the company's ships, the Al Jasrah, was attacked near Yemen on December 15 on its way to Singapore and the company would take more decisions on routes by the end of the year.
The spokesperson said the company had received no detailed information about the US-led naval coalition aimed at protecting Red Sea shipping.
Stabilising the critical waterways will be vital to ensure that shipping traffic can fully resume, ocean transportation executives said.
The fallout is also being felt directly in Israel. OCCL said on Saturday that "due to operational issues," it would stop accepting cargo to and from Israel until further notice.
Israel's most southern port of Eilat has seen an 85% drop in activity since Houthi attacks stepped up, the port's chief executive said this week.
