IN Brief:
- Maersk increased Mundra empty-container handling charges to $51 for a 20ft unit and $67 for a 40ft unit from 1 November.
- Direct payment to nominated yards is also being introduced by other carriers at Indian ports, with differing tariffs and collection procedures.
- Chennai customs brokers have threatened to boycott MSC export shipments from 15 November over disputed third-party collection arrangements.
Maersk has more than doubled lift-on/lift-off charges for empty containers at India’s Mundra port, while customs brokers at Chennai are threatening separate action over direct depot fee collection by shipping lines. The Mundra increases took effect on 1 November, and the Chennai Customs Brokers Association (CCBA) has set a 15 November deadline for its threatened boycott of certain MSC export shipments.
At Mundra, Maersk has raised the charge for a 20ft empty container from $23 to $51, an increase of $28. The rate for a 40ft box has increased from $31 to $67, adding $36 per movement. Applicable local taxes are additional. The changes concern the handling of empty equipment at yards, not a general increase in the carrier’s ocean freight rates.
Lift-on/lift-off, commonly abbreviated to lo-lo, describes the movement of a container onto or off a vehicle or within a depot using handling equipment. Importers returning emptied boxes and exporters collecting empties for loading depend on these operations to complete the container equipment cycle. Charges at the yard are separate from the commercial arrangements for transporting a loaded container by sea.
The carrier has instructed customers to pay nominated depot providers directly for the affected handling. The payment route is significant because the company arranging a shipment may not be the same organisation collecting the container, paying the depot, or ultimately bearing the cost. Forwarders and customs brokers can be left reconciling a carrier’s container instructions with invoices from a separate yard operator.
Mundra serves substantial container flows linked to manufacturing, trade, and distribution across northern and western India, including the Delhi hinterland. The revised charge adds a fixed amount to an individual empty-container movement before tax. Its impact on a customer’s total logistics bill will depend on how many such movements are chargeable and which party is responsible under the relevant commercial agreement.
Similar payment arrangements have been introduced at other Indian gateways, although the tariffs are not identical. Hapag-Lloyd has instructed customers to pay the designated yard or depot operator directly for empty-container lo-lo services at Chennai and Ennore from 1 November. Its published charges are INR725 for a 20ft box and INR975 for a 40ft box, plus applicable goods and services tax, with payment through NEFT or UPI rather than cash.
CMA CGM also changed the collection process for export empty-container lift-on charges at Chennai from 15 October. It published rates of INR750 for 20ft equipment and INR1,000 for 40ft equipment, plus applicable tax, to be paid to the depot operator. The examples demonstrate that direct yard billing is being used by more than one carrier, but do not establish a single standard price or policy across Indian ports.
At Chennai, the CCBA’s dispute centres on nominated third-party yards collecting handling charges directly from cargo interests. The association argues that the arrangement lacks adequate transparency and accountability, particularly where customers decline to reimburse customs brokers for charges that appear after transport arrangements have been agreed. These concerns are the association’s position; the available evidence does not establish that individual depot operators have acted unlawfully.
The CCBA decided at a 29 October meeting to threaten a boycott of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) export shipments from 15 November unless the disputed collection practice is withdrawn. It has also warned that the action could extend to MSC import consignments from 15 December if the disagreement continues. Neither threatened date should be treated as an actual stoppage before a boycott begins.
The association has indicated that it could take a similar position towards other shipping lines introducing the same arrangements. A boycott confined to particular carriers or cargo categories would not necessarily close a port, but could interfere with bookings, customs brokerage services, empty-container collection, and documentation for affected consignments. No confirmed volume of containers at risk or expected loss of terminal capacity has been published.
The disagreement concerns both the amount charged and the way responsibility is assigned for collecting it. A carrier can direct a customer to a nominated yard, while the yard invoices the handling transaction and the broker arranges paperwork or collection. If the shipper has not agreed who should absorb the depot charge, the physical movement may still be completed while payment and reimbursement become disputed.
The differences between Mundra and Chennai must be kept distinct. Maersk’s higher Mundra prices are already in effect, whereas the prominent Chennai action is a threatened boycott associated with MSC’s collection arrangements. Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM have published separate direct-payment rules at Chennai, but the existence of those notices does not demonstrate that their customers face Maersk’s Mundra rates.
The next immediate deadline is 15 November, when the CCBA has said it could stop handling the specified MSC export shipments. Meanwhile, Maersk customers using Mundra must account for the revised rates and direct depot payments in their current equipment movements. Any broader effect on container traffic will depend on whether the Chennai dispute escalates and whether additional carriers revise their own yard arrangements.
