Foreign shipping lines are set to impose additional freight charges of up to $800 on Pakistan-bound and outbound cargo, escalating operational costs for importers and exporters. Starting May 15, major container shipping firms have announced an Emergency Operational Recovery Surcharge (EORS) ranging from $300 to $800 per container for all shipments to and from Pakistan. This surcharge will affect trade with key regions including Europe, the Mediterranean, the United States, Africa, and Asia.
The EORS is particularly impactful for trade routes involving the US, Latin America, and Australia, where the surcharge will remain in effect until at least June 6. Sea freight carriers are also adjusting logistics strategies by rerouting cargo through transshipment hubs such as Colombo in Sri Lanka and Salalah in Oman. French shipping giant CMA CGM has confirmed the implementation of an $800 surcharge per container on shipments destined for Europe, the US East Coast, Africa, and the Middle East, including imports. Industry insiders anticipate that other global carriers may adopt similar surcharges due to increasing costs related to feeder vessel operations.
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The Pakistan Ship’s Agents Association (PSAA) attributes these new charges and route recalibrations to Indian policy changes, which are seen as measures to deter direct port calls to Pakistan. Despite these developments, the Karachi Port Trust has reported normal activity and no signs of cargo congestion, indicating stable operational capacity.
In a related development, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs in Pakistan issued a directive on May 3 that prohibits Indian-flagged ships from docking at Pakistani ports and restricts Pakistani vessels from calling at Indian ports. However, this restriction does not apply to Reshipment on Board (RoB) cargo, allowing Indian-origin goods in transit through Pakistan to continue without disruption. Meanwhile, India’s recent ban on the import and transit of all Pakistani goods has created significant disruption in trade, affecting an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of weekly exports from Karachi.
These changes mark a significant shift in regional maritime logistics, with traders and logistics companies bracing for higher costs and longer shipping routes amid rising geopolitical tensions and evolving trade policies between Pakistan and India.
