SEVERAL container carriers, including Danish shipping giant Maersk, have announced low-water surcharges on services from North Europe to Canada.
Maersk said that starting July 30 it will impose a low-water surcharge amounting to US$100 per TEU and $150 per FEU and 45-foot containers on cargo from North Europe to Montreal.
Starting August 1, French shipping giant CMA CGM said it will implement a $150 surcharge per TEU/FEU on all cargo from North Europe to Canada East Coast on its St Laurent service. The ships in that service call Montreal first and then Halifax before returning to Europe.
Also starting August 1, Hapag-Lloyd of Germany will implement a low-water surcharge for all westbound cargo moving to Montreal on its St Lawrence Container Services AT1 and AT2 of $100 per TEU and $150 per FEU, reports American Shipper.
'St Lawrence River water levels have decreased considerably, with the latest forecasts by the Canadian Coast Guard predicting further reductions,' Hapag-Lloyd said.
Nils Haupt, a spokesman for Hapag-Lloyd, explained that 'the amount of cargo we cannot load depends on the water level forecasted for Montreal for the time our vessel is scheduled to arrive there. This means we need to determine about three weeks prior to arrival Montreal how much cargo we can load.
'We need to do this conservatively, and if in doubt rather sail light than too heavy, to avoid being unable to enter the port once we arrive. The amount of cargo we cannot load can be as high as 5,000 tonnes per each sailing, which equates to approximately 400 to 500 TEU lost cargo,' Mr Haupt said.
'Low-water levels occur from time to time on the St Lawrence River, and it is a very common procedure for carriers to implement surcharges for those periods of low water,' he said.
The Port of Montreal said recently that there was 12.11 metres of water available in the channel, which is maintained at a depth of 11.3 metres.
But Jean Aubry-Morin, a spokesman at Canada's St Lawrence Seaway Management Corp, said water levels measured at Jetty Number 1 in the Port of Montreal are below what they were last summer and have been headed downward since March and recently fell below the long-term average. 'It's due to ice floe, basically,' he said.
Low water surcharges are also periodically announced by carriers on inland barge service up the Rhine River.
Maersk said that starting July 30 it will impose a low-water surcharge amounting to US$100 per TEU and $150 per FEU and 45-foot containers on cargo from North Europe to Montreal.
Starting August 1, French shipping giant CMA CGM said it will implement a $150 surcharge per TEU/FEU on all cargo from North Europe to Canada East Coast on its St Laurent service. The ships in that service call Montreal first and then Halifax before returning to Europe.
Also starting August 1, Hapag-Lloyd of Germany will implement a low-water surcharge for all westbound cargo moving to Montreal on its St Lawrence Container Services AT1 and AT2 of $100 per TEU and $150 per FEU, reports American Shipper.
'St Lawrence River water levels have decreased considerably, with the latest forecasts by the Canadian Coast Guard predicting further reductions,' Hapag-Lloyd said.
Nils Haupt, a spokesman for Hapag-Lloyd, explained that 'the amount of cargo we cannot load depends on the water level forecasted for Montreal for the time our vessel is scheduled to arrive there. This means we need to determine about three weeks prior to arrival Montreal how much cargo we can load.
'We need to do this conservatively, and if in doubt rather sail light than too heavy, to avoid being unable to enter the port once we arrive. The amount of cargo we cannot load can be as high as 5,000 tonnes per each sailing, which equates to approximately 400 to 500 TEU lost cargo,' Mr Haupt said.
'Low-water levels occur from time to time on the St Lawrence River, and it is a very common procedure for carriers to implement surcharges for those periods of low water,' he said.
The Port of Montreal said recently that there was 12.11 metres of water available in the channel, which is maintained at a depth of 11.3 metres.
But Jean Aubry-Morin, a spokesman at Canada's St Lawrence Seaway Management Corp, said water levels measured at Jetty Number 1 in the Port of Montreal are below what they were last summer and have been headed downward since March and recently fell below the long-term average. 'It's due to ice floe, basically,' he said.
Low water surcharges are also periodically announced by carriers on inland barge service up the Rhine River.