War risk cost on the Black Sea has moved from the carrier's books onto the shipper's quotation. CMA CGM began charging a war risk surcharge on Black Sea services at USD 35 per TEU (reported by JCtrans on 4 November 2026); a ZIM container vessel was sunk by a drone strike in the Black Sea on the same day (JCtrans, 4 November 2026); and nine vessels were attacked in the Black Sea within one month (reported by Haiyunquan on 4 November 2026). For forwarders, the question is not how to read the geopolitical situation, but how to adjust quotation structure and clauses.
Why the surcharge is being charged now
War risk is a specialist insurance line covering loss or damage to vessel and cargo caused by war, civil war, rebellion and hostile acts. Rates move with the risk grading of the trading area. When a carrier is required to hold additional cover on a specific route, the cost enters operating expenses and is passed on as a surcharge. The USD 35 per TEU figure published by JCtrans on 4 November 2026 is the concrete level currently quoted on this route; whether other carriers follow, and under what name, depends on their own notices.
Our own assessment is that the surcharge will not disappear quickly. War risk rates are area-driven, and a downgrade in risk grading requires a sustained safe period, which the current attack density does not support.
Three changes to make in the quotation
First, list the charge on its own line. State the billing unit (per TEU or per shipment), the scope (the specific port pair), and the validity period. Rolling it into the all-in freight rate makes it impossible to explain a rate increase at renewal, and the forwarder ends up with less negotiating room.
Second, present alternatives. A surcharge is ultimately an optional cost, and the shipper can choose a different port, a different vessel or a later sailing. Quote the price difference of two alternative routings so the customer has something to compare rather than a single price increase.
Third, keep an adjustment mechanism. State that the rate follows the carrier's published notices. War risk rates can change with area grading; without a review clause, the forwarder absorbs any increase.
Black Sea and Hormuz follow different cost logic
On the Black Sea, risk shows up as war risk premium and schedule uncertainty. On Hormuz, it shows up mainly as transit restrictions, rerouting and port congestion. Iran expanded its non-compliant vessel list to 240 ships (Maritime Service Network, 4 November 2026), including four container vessels (YiHangYun, 5 November 2026). The two directions therefore need different quotation treatment: war risk surcharge for the Black Sea, and risk surcharge plus rerouting clauses for the Middle East. One sentence cannot cover both.
How to answer a refusal to pay
Do not open with "the carrier charges it, we only collect it". The customer will ask why they were not told in advance. A workable answer has three layers: the route now carries a war risk surcharge of USD 35 per TEU; if they prefer not to bear it, a port change or a later sailing is available, and the inland cost of a port change usually exceeds the surcharge; we will calculate the landed cost of both options for comparison.
Evergreen and Yang Ming have returned to the Suez routing while ZIM continues to route via the Cape (Yun Yun Wang, 4 November 2026). Different carriers within the same alliance making different choices means transit time can no longer be quoted as a route average; the schedule commitment must be tied to the specific carrier.
One extra check before accepting a booking
Vessel list screening used to matter mainly for tankers; container vessels are now listed as well. Our practice is to make screening a fixed role: check vessel name and owner against the list before booking, assess re-allocation if a match appears, and confirm the risk with the customer in writing. According to Shipping Herald on 4 November 2026, 37 VLCCs of a single Korean owner were listed, which shows the list now goes down to the owner level.
An additional cost for European parcel shippers
The EU added a EUR 2 handling fee on cross-border parcels from November and made product identification code (PID) filing mandatory (Ecommerce Dynamics, 4 November 2026). At a EUR 20 order value, EUR 2 is roughly ten percentage points of margin. Confirm the fee per customer, note it in the quotation, and offer consolidated shipping so that the per-parcel cost falls.
Two practices we apply internally
First, template enforcement: Black Sea and Middle East quotation templates each carry a mandatory surcharge line, so the information does not depend on individual memory. Second, separation of sources: carrier notices are reproduced with dates, while our own forward-looking judgments are labelled separately, so customers can tell which sentence is safe to act on.
FAQ
Is the war risk surcharge mandatory? It follows the carrier's notice and the risk grading of the route. Apply it as notified and state the billing unit and validity in the quotation.
What if the customer refuses to pay? Offer a landed-cost comparison across port change, vessel change and later sailing, so the discussion is about cost options rather than a binary yes or no.
Will the surcharge enter contract rates? It is normally shown as a separate surcharge. Whether it is folded into a contract rate should be agreed explicitly, otherwise a temporary risk cost becomes a fixed expectation.
Can a listed vessel still be booked? Direct booking is not advisable. Assess re-allocation first and confirm the risk with the customer in writing, subject to carrier requirements.
Shanghai Naili has provided marketing and content operations for freight forwarders for 10 years, covering website content, WeChat official account operations, AI employee implementation and GEO optimisation, tracking rate, route and policy changes and turning them into actions forwarders can apply directly.