MSC extends piracy and Suez surcharges to all Mediterranean, Black Sea ports

MSC will levy a combined US$91 per TEU on Asia-origin cargo to every remaining Mediterranean and Black Sea port from 15 November 2026, as the carrier rolls its Piracy Risk Surcharge and Suez Canal Surcharge across the full basin for the first time.

The breakdown is US$55 per TEU for the Piracy Risk Surcharge and US$36 per TEU for the Suez Canal Surcharge. MSC set the charges "until further notice" — language that gives the carrier an open-ended right to keep collecting revenue with no expiry date.

What does the extension cover?

The widened scope brings four additional regions into the surcharge net:

• West Mediterranean
• East Mediterranean
• Adriatic
• North Africa and the Black Sea

Only cargo moving from Asia is affected. Mediterranean and Black Sea ports that MSC had not yet covered — principally the western basin and Adriatic — now sit inside the same pricing structure as the eastern ports already charged since September.

The move is the third step in a steady expansion. MSC first introduced the surcharges for selected East Mediterranean and Black Sea ports in September. It then extended them to additional destinations across the Mediterranean and North Africa. This latest notice closes the map, applying the charges to all remaining ports effective from the proforma date of 15 November 2026.

Why is MSC charging this now?

MSC attributes the decision to security conditions and piracy risks around the Arabian Peninsula. According to the carrier, these conditions continue to affect vessel operations, transit routes and its wider service network.

The claim deserves scrutiny. MSC has not published evidence linking a piracy incident to each newly surcharged region, nor has it explained why cargo discharging in the West Mediterranean or Adriatic — well beyond the Arabian Peninsula — carries the same US$55 piracy charge as eastern ports closer to the affected transit zone. The flat, basin-wide rate suggests a network-level cost allocation rather than a corridor-specific risk premium.

What MSC has also not said is when the charges might end. The "until further notice" formulation means shippers have no contractual basis to budget beyond the current booking window, and no stated criteria — an incident threshold, a transit resumption, a security assessment — that would trigger removal.

What does this cost shippers in practice?

For a standard 40-foot box, shippers should read the headline figure doubled: US$182 per FEU on top of base ocean rates, applied from mid-November. An Asia–West Mediterranean string discharging thousands of TEU per call adds six figures of surcharge revenue per voyage to the carrier — none of it subject to an announced sunset clause.

Forwarders face an immediate operational task. Bookings made now for arrival after 15 November must price the US$91 per TEU in, and quote validity windows that straddle the effective date need renegotiation. Shippers with contracted Asia–Med rates should check whether their service agreements cap emergency or security-related surcharges or require notice periods MSC's proforma-date mechanism may compress.

Is this the ceiling or the floor?

The trajectory matters more than the level. What began as a targeted charge on selected eastern ports in September now covers an entire sea basin, at unchanged rates, with no end date. Unless competitors follow or shippers push back in contracting rounds, the US$91 per TEU structure looks less like an emergency measure and more like a standing feature of Asia–Mediterranean pricing.