Container freight rates on the India-Middle East trade have continued to climb, as ports in the conflict-affected region grapple with operational challenges.

According to data from market sources, spot rates from India to the Middle East have spiked by 25%, to 40%, since the last week of August, as vessel capacity pressures persist.

For example, container booking rates from JNPA (Nhava Sheva) to Dammam in Saudi Arabia are now as high as $8,500 per teu and $9,500 per 40ft, up from about $5,800 and $6,800 a month ago.

Spot rates ex-India to Jebel Ali vary dynamically from carrier to carrier in the current environment, sources said, with average JNPA-Jeddah rates hovering at around $5,500 per teu and $7,400 per 40ft, roughly 25% higher than a month ago.

“Certain mainline carriers are selling space from India to Umm Qasr in Iraq at $10,000 per 40ft hi-cube box,” one NVO source told The Loadstar.

Major liners, including Hapag-Lloyd and MSC, are increasingly using Umm Qasr as a critical strategic gateway for regional trade and workaround logistics corridors in the Persian Gulf as congestion across other bypass gateways, mainly Khor Fakkan and Fujairah in the UAE and Sohar in Oman, keeps land-bridge or overland multimodal logistics networks struggling to cope with demand.

And, in a disrupted market, container lines have an opportunity to push through more add-ons into the freight bill.

The latest “cash-in” attempt is an increased emergency fuel surcharge (EFS) notice by CMA CGM for trades into and out of the Middle East beginning 1 October of $265 per dry teu and $320 per reefer teu on the head-haul, and $75 and $90 respectively on the back-haul.

“The renewed escalation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb has pushed fuel prices sharply higher,” the Marseille-headquartered carrier said.

“Brent [global oil price benchmark] has been trading above $100 per barrel since early September, and bunker prices have followed in all regions,” it added.

Meanwhile, there seems no pause or slowdown in Middle East-linked containers being transhipped over Indian ports, according to new data sourced by The Loadstar.

JNPA saw record transhipment volumes last month, some 145,000 teu, up from 113,000 teu in July. PSA Mumbai contributed the most among the port’s five box terminals, in August handling some 61,500 teu of transhipment traffic, versus 32,500 teu in July, data shows.

CMA CGM has been particularly active in evacuating Middle East-bound containers out of JNPA, using its BIGEX network of services and ad-hoc sailings.

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