Maersk (MAERSKB DC) notes continued Strait of Hormuz disruption and regional port congestion are impacting on cargo movements and delivery timelines

• "Due to the evolving situation in the Middle East and the resulting increase in fuel related costs, we will be adjusting our inland fuel surcharge. This temporary measure is necessary to ensure continuity and efficiency in the services we provide with potential changes in subsequent weeks depending on market conditions."

Container lines adjusting fuel surcharges in response to Gulf disruption is the standard early-stage playbook for maritime chokepoint episodes: surcharges arrive before freight rate resets, since they are contractually flexible while base rates reprice more slowly. The operative transmission channel here is bunker costs plus rerouting and congestion, which historically flows through Asia-Europe and Asia-US spot rates with a lag, with congestion at regional ports compounding the delay as cargo bunches. Maersk, as one of the largest carriers and a habitual early mover on surcharge announcements, is generally treated as a signal for the peer set; comparable notices from MSC, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd have tended to follow within days in past episodes of this kind. The distinction that matters is between a temporary surcharge and a sustained capacity withdrawal: the former passes through costs, the latter tightens effective supply and supports rates more durably, and carriers' blank sailing decisions are the tell. Worth noting that the framing of potential further changes in subsequent weeks is the standard open-ended language lines use while the security situation remains unresolved. Insurers' war risk premia on Gulf transits are the adjacent variable that has historically tracked how seriously the market prices the disruption.