Maersk assesses Sydney congestion fee

   Maersk Line this week will start assessing a congestion surcharge on cargo moving in and out of Sydney.
   The surcharge, $100 per 20-foot container and $200 per 40-foot container, will be assessed from Nov. 3 to all destinations except the United States and Puerto Rico. To those destinations, the surcharge takes effect from Nov. 19, due to U.S. Federal Maritime Commission regulations, the line said.
   “The implementation of a congestion surcharge is unfortunately necessary to help partially recover rising costs associated with servicing Sydney due to berth congestion, vessel delays and restrictions on empty container evacuations, as we can no longer continue to solely absorb all of the additional cost,” Maersk said in a statement. “We would like to assure our customers that we continue to push the terminals in Sydney to improve the situation.”