MSC will levy a combined US$91 per TEU in piracy and Suez Canal surcharges on container cargo moving from Asia to a widened set of Mediterranean and North African destinations, effective from proforma date 19 October 2026 until further notice.

The Geneva-based line split the charges into two line items: a Piracy Risk Surcharge of US$55 per TEU and a Suez Canal Surcharge of US$36 per TEU. The combined US$91/TEU add-on stacks on top of base ocean freight for every loaded container on the affected trade lane.

What is the trade-lane scope?

MSC attributed the extension to ongoing piracy risks around the Arabian Peninsula, which the carrier said continue to affect vessel operations and transit routes. The surcharge covers all cargo from Asia to two East Mediterranean points — Derince in Turkey and Port Said West in Egypt — plus 45 additional ports across North Africa, the West Mediterranean and the Adriatic.

The expanded port list sweeps nearly the entire southern European and Maghreb container footprint:

• North Africa: Agadir, Algiers, Annaba, Bejaia, Benghazi, Casablanca, Khoms, Misurata, Nador, Oran, Skikda, Tripoli, Tunis
• West Mediterranean: Alicante, Arrecife de Lanzarote, Barcelona, Cartagena, Fos-sur-Mer, Genoa, Gioia Tauro, La Spezia, Las Palmas, Livorno, Malaga, Naples, Palermo, Puerto del Rosario, Salerno, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Trapani, Valencia
• Adriatic: Ancona, Augusta, Bar, Bari, Cagliari, Civitavecchia, Durrës, Marsaxlokk, Ploče, Pozzallo, Ravenna, Venice

How does this hit shippers and forwarders?

For shippers booking Asia-Mediterranean container slots, the math is straightforward. A 40-foot box carries two TEU, so the combined surcharge adds US$182 per FEU. A 20-foot container pays US$91. BCOs routing through Italian, Spanish or North African gateways see the charge stack on top of any peak-season premium and bunker adjustment factor already in the rate sheet.

Forwarders with contractual pass-through clauses shift the cost downstream; those without absorb it into margin or invoice it separately. Because MSC publishes surcharges as proforma additions rather than base rate revisions, the impact lands cleanly on invoice lines and resists easy absorption into benchmark reporting.

Why is the Arabian Peninsula the trigger?

The Houthi campaign in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden has pushed most liner services off the Suez Canal for nearly three years, rerouting Asia-Europe boxships via the Cape of Good Hope.

MSC's continued application of a Suez surcharge on Asia-Mediterranean cargo suggests at least part of its tonnage still books Suez slots, where tolls and war-risk insurance premiums remain elevated.

The Piracy Risk Surcharge prices residual exposure for transits past the Bab el-Mandeb, regardless of which routing choice the carrier ultimately makes.

Proforma surcharges let MSC adjust cost recovery mid-contract without renegotiating base freight rates — a mechanism that keeps transit risk pricing separate from headline rate negotiations.

MSC's decision to extend — rather than taper — the surcharges signals the line expects Red Sea risk and Suez toll exposure to persist through at least the fourth quarter of 2026.

The combined US$91/TEU charge joins a stack of risk premia Asia-Mediterranean shippers have paid since major carriers began rerouting around Africa. Each top-tier operator sets its own rate, port coverage and effective dates, forcing BCOs to benchmark line by line.

MSC will run the surcharge until further notice and reassess at each proforma cycle. For Asia-Mediterranean shippers, the practical question now is whether the combined US$91/TEU charge survives into 2027 — and whether rival carriers soften their own risk add-ons as Red Sea routing decisions firm up across the alliance networks.