Photo: VesselFinder
By Angelo Mathais India correspondent
19 August 2026
French container line CMA CGM has partly eased its suspension on handling Upper Gulf transit cargo via Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Port, which has been hit hard by terminal congestion and inland bottlenecks for months.
The carrier told Indian customers yesterday it would now accept transit cargo through Jeddah if the shipment had a Saudi-based ‘notify party’ on the bill of lading (B/L).
In such cases, the carrier typically informs the notify party on the B/L that the containers are ready for delivery, even though the notified party is not necessarily the shipper or consignee that booked the freight.
On 23 June CMA CGM notified customers of a temporary pause on “the acceptance of shipments booked to Jeddah for merchant haulage to countries other than Saudi Arabia.” Maersk had implemented similar curbs for imports into Jeddah.
“If cargo is booked to Jeddah but the consignee is in another Middle East country, it will not be discharged in Jeddah. It will instead be routed to the consignee’s country via Khor Fakkan,” the carrier had warned.
With container yards acutely choked, container release times at Jeddah have increasingly deteriorated in recent months, stretching up to six to eight days, according to industry updates. Vessels are incurring long berthing delays, often of up to 10 days, updates show.
Emergency surcharges or add-ons for imports into Jeddah have been announced by several major carriers: MSC is seeking a congestion surcharge of $500 per teu; and Hapag-Lloyd said it would begin charging a ‘dangerous goods premium’ (DGP) of $1,000 per container on hazardous boxes shipped from North Europe and the Mediterranean to Jeddah.
“The existing DGP will be increased for all container types carrying dangerous goods, except DG Classes 1 and 7, for all sailings commencing on 1 September,” Hapag-Lloyd said. “The ocean tariff rates as well as bunker-related surcharges, security-related surcharges and terminal handling charges remain as announced.”
Red Sea trade liner Turkon Line has also implemented surcharges for Jeddah bookings – $150 per teu and $300 per 40ft ex-Turkey, according to updates.
The surcharges and carrier restrictions come as the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) had tightened regional or cross-border cargo movement through its ports, especially Jeddah, with a requirement that all in-transit containers must depart within 15 days of landing, in order to prevent congestion and avoid long-standing penalties.
Despite that, the congestion at Jeddah shows little signs of dissipating. So, in the interim, some carriers are pushing shippers to reroute cargo via Saudi’s King Abdullah Port.