Americas News
MSC in Low Sulphur Surcharge from August 3
Container line Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC) has said from August 3, 2012 it will implement a Low Sulfur Surcharge (LSS) for all export cargo to all U.S. ports.
MSC said the LSS for the U.S. East Coast and Gulf will be $10 and $20 for twenty-foot and forty-foot containers respectively.
The LSS for the West Coast will be $12 and $24 for twenty-foot and forty-foot containers respectively.
"We clarify that this surcharge will be manifested prepaid, collect or elsewhere," it said.
On August 1, 2012 the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA) comes into effect, meaning vessels must use fuels with no more than 1% sulfur within 200 nautical miles of the coast line.
The ECA has been widely expected to result in an increase in the cost of shipping, with documents in a recent lawsuit filed by the State of Alaska saying the cost of shipping goods to the state were estimated to increase by 8%.
The U.S. Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) estimates the overall cost of the ECA at $3.2 billion in 2020 and in that same year it estimates the monetised health-related benefits in the U.S. to be up to $110 billion.
