In 2026, there have been complaints in the Canary Islands regarding the ETS in the maritime sector driven by Brussels, arguing that neighboring countries such as Morocco will benefit from better prices when the problem for the islands lies in the rigidity of the labor of their stevedores, mostly earning 8,800 euros net per month. But the global container transport market has already taken measures without Brussels saying anything. There are shipping companies that have launched their own ETS, and the sector is preparing for a new escalation of costs in the main arteries of international trade. MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, the largest shipping line in the world by operational capacity and owner of OPCSA in the port of Las Palmas and 50% of Boluda Towage, announced on Thursday a drastic restructuring of its freight rates for routes connecting manufacturing hubs in East Asia with Europe and the Mediterranean basin. The new base rates for all types of goods (FAK), applicable from June 15 to June 30, 2026, consolidate an upward trend that pressures the margins of Western supply chains in an environment of operational volatility. The real spike in costs is located in North Africa, a region subject to logistics risk premiums and inventory imbalances. Algeria leads the price increases with freight rates of 6,200 dollars per 20-foot container and up to 8,900 dollars for larger capacity units. Tunisia follows a similar trend, setting its prices at 6,000 and 8,500 dollars respectively, while Libya (5,900 / 8,200 dollars) and Morocco, with the port of Casablanca as a reference (5,200 / 7,500 dollars), complete a cost structure that will immediately raise import costs in the Maghreb region. The final prices faced by shippers will be significantly higher than these base port-to-port rates. The announced quotes operate under the Valid At Time Of Shipment (VATOS) model, incorporating a mandatory Global Fuel Surcharge (GFS) of 225 dollars per TEU for June, combined with the charge for the Emission Control Area (ECA). The latter will range from 15 dollars per TEU for Mediterranean and Northern European destinations, to 52 dollars per TEU applied to ports in the Nordic and Baltic regions. European importers will also have to bear the impact of the European Union’s environmental regulations on maritime trade. MSC will systematically charge a Carbon Limitation Surcharge (CLS) of 20 dollars per TEU, complemented by a Carbon Review Surcharge (CRS) that will impose 78 dollars per TEU on Northern European traffic and 116 dollars per TEU on Mediterranean routes. The tariff adjustment covers flows originating from all ports of the Far East, including strategic nodes in Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. According to the financial breakdown of the Geneva-based company, the transport of a standard 20-foot container (20 DV) to Northern European ports will be set at a floor of 3,900 dollars, while 40-foot units and High Cube containers (40 DV – HC) will reach 6,000 dollars. The increase sharpens as trade flows head towards the southern part of Europe and peripheral economies. Freight destined for the western Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea converges on a uniform tariff of 4,500 dollars for 20-foot containers and 6,500 dollars for 40-foot containers. A similar parity is observed on routes to the eastern Mediterranean (4,400 dollars for 20 DV and 6,200 dollars for 40 DV) and the Black Sea (4,450 dollars for 20 DV and 6,300 dollars for 40 DV). These FAK tariffs explicitly exclude goods classified under the IMO category of hazardous materials and high-value goods, remaining subject to local handling surcharges at terminals (THC) and the standard conditions of the shipping line’s bill of lading. The aggressive time window of the announcement, limited to a fortnight, reflects the strategy of maritime giants to test market resilience and implement dynamic surcharges in a global network that today manages consumer demand through more than 675 commercial offices.
© 2026 canarymaritime