Maersk resets Dili terminal handling charges at $400–$920 per box

Maersk will charge US$400 per 20-foot dry container in terminal handling on shipments to and from Dili, Timor-Leste, from 1 December 2026 — with the tariff scaling to US$920 for the largest reefer and high-cube equipment. The revision applies symmetrically: the same level hits origin handling (OHC) on Dili exports and destination handling (DHC) on imports into the Timor-Leste capital. The carrier says the new rates remain valid until further notice.

The full published tariff works like this:

• 20-foot dry: US$400 — both Dili to world (OHC) and world to Dili (DHC)
• 40-foot dry: US$735 — both directions
• 45-foot high-cube dry: US$920 — both directions
• 20-foot reefer: US$695 — both directions
• 40-foot reefer: US$920 — both directions

Which equipment pays which rate?

The dry figures are broad-brush. Maersk applies them to dry, high-dry, bulk, collapsible flat rack, flat rack, hive, pallet-wide, open-top, tank and twin-deck containers. If it isn't a reefer, in short, it pays the dry rate.

The reefer tiers cover standard refrigerated units, high-cube reefers and reefer high-vent equipment. A 40-foot reefer and a 45-foot high-cube dry box now cost the same US$920 — an odd bit of tariff symmetry that shippers of either equipment type will notice on the invoice.

What does this change for shippers?

For importers and exporters moving through Dili, the answer is mostly predictability. Matching import and export levels removes the guessing game over directional surcharges, and a fixed table valid "until further notice" beats ad hoc adjustments. The practical task now is simpler: anyone with cargo booked around the 1 December 2026 start date needs to confirm which tariff — old or new — governs their shipment.

Maersk has drawn that line by booking type. For non-SPOT bookings, the applicable rate is set by the Price Calculation Date. For SPOT bookings, the carrier uses the first vessel's estimated departure date shown at booking confirmation. Freight forwarders quoting Dili business across the changeover should check both dates before locking in client pricing.

The stakes aren't trivial for a small trade. US$735 per 40-footer in terminal handling, applied at both ends of a round-trip booking, adds up quickly on recurring flows. That's US$1,470 per round-trip 40-foot dry movement in THC alone, before ocean freight, documentation or any other surcharge enters the spreadsheet.

For Maersk, the move is standard housekeeping — a carrier tidying a niche trade lane's accessorial tariff. Timor-Leste sits on the periphery of most global networks, and Dili's volumes are modest by any regional measure. But niche lanes are exactly where opaque accessorial charges tend to accumulate unnoticed.

Shippers on the lane get a clean, symmetric table and a firm effective date. What they don't get is an expiry — "until further notice" means the next revision arrives whenever Maersk decides it does, and the only real hedge is reading the next notice as closely as this one.