On 1 October 2026, Container News reported that Maersk will revise its Peak Season Surcharge for dry container shipments from Far East Asia to South Africa and Mauritius. The revised surcharge applies from 15 October 2026 until further notice.
Published levels are US$250 for all 20-foot dry containers and US$500 for all 40-foot dry containers. The Far East origin scope listed by Container News covers China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam, with destinations South Africa and Mauritius.
Industry write-ups of the same Maersk circular add operational detail useful for booking desks: for non-SPOT cargo the amount is retrieved on Price Calculation Date (PCD)—for non-FMC often the scheduled departure of the first water leg at booking confirmation, and for FMC the last container gate-in date—and PSS is typically not applied on SPOT bookings, with collection following the freight paid terms.
For importers sourcing from China factories into southern Africa after the 1–7 October Golden Week reopen, the actionable step is to reprice any mid-to-late October Maersk dry-box program with the PSS explicit in the all-in, confirm whether the booking is SPOT or contract/non-SPOT, and dual-check competing carriers that often follow similar Far East–South Africa surcharge moves within weeks.