Shippers tack on US$1,000 surcharge because of Panama Canal drought and Red Sea attacks

(Image: Port of Tauranga)

Fri, 12 Jan 2024

Kotahi, New Zealand’s largest shipping group, says exporters face a shipping surcharge of US$1,000 (NZ$1,600) per container because of disruption at the critical Suez and Panama canals.The shipping crisis has been precipitated by attacks on commercial shipping vessels through the Red Sea south of the Suez Canal by a Yemeni rebel group, as well as severe drought on the Panama Canal, which has reduced transit capacity from about 40 ships a day to 18.Major shipping companies Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and MSC have diverted more than 80% of their ve...

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