CMA CGM to levy emergency surcharge on Chattogram shipments

Global shipping major CMA CGM has announced plans to impose an Emergency Cost Recovery Surcharge (ECRS) on all import and export shipments passing through Chattogram Port, effective 26 October 2025. The move follows the Chittagong Port Authority’s (CPA) recent decision to implement a revised tariff structure starting 15 October, marking the port’s first major fee adjustment in more than four decades.

In a customer advisory issued on 7 October, CMA CGM said the surcharge aims to offset the “increased local operational costs” resulting from the CPA’s tariff revision. The ECRS will be applied to all shipments handled at Chattogram Port (BDCGP), regardless of contract terms or shipping arrangements.

Under the new surcharge, dry containers will attract $45 for 20-foot units and $70 for 40-foot units, while reefer containers will face $40–$90, out-of-gauge cargo will be charged $110–$245, and hazardous cargo will incur $140–$305 per container. Charges will be collected locally, based on the vessel’s berthing date.

The CPA has defended its tariff hike—covering berth occupancy, container handling, and vessel services—as an effort to align Chattogram’s rates with regional hubs such as Colombo and Singapore. However, the decision has triggered concern among exporters, freight forwarders, and trade bodies, who warn of cascading cost increases across Bangladesh’s already strained logistics sector.

Industry observers caution that CMA CGM’s move could set a precedent for other global liners, including Maersk, MSC, and Hapag-Lloyd, to introduce similar surcharges—further inflating the cost of containerized trade through Bangladesh’s principal seaport, which handles over 90% of the country’s import and export cargo.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) have both urged the government to reconsider the timing of the tariff revision. They warn that such abrupt cost escalations could undermine export competitiveness at a time of sluggish global demand.

CMA CGM’s ECRS marks the first tangible ripple effect of the CPA’s new tariff regime. For Bangladesh’s exporters—already grappling with declining orders, high fuel prices, and currency pressures—the added surcharges threaten to erode margins further and complicate trade flows through the nation’s busiest maritime gateway.