---
title: "What you need to know about the Emergency Bunker Surcharges"
description: "by: Nerijus Poskus & Dharshini Shegran The rising cost of crude oil is causing disruptions throughout the global supply chain. Brazil saw a devastating trucker strike recently, IATA cut profit…"
language: en
canonical: https://www.flex.thisisbrew.com/blog/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-emergency-bunker-surcharges/
lifecycle: live
---

# What you need to know about the Emergency Bunker Surcharges

## by: Nerijus Poskus & Dharshini Shegran

The rising cost of crude oil is causing disruptions throughout the global supply chain. [Brazil](https://www.flexport.com/logistics/our-network/brazil) saw a [devastating trucker strike](https://www.flex.thisisbrew.com/blog/how-brazilian-crude-oil-prices-killed-100-million-chickens/) recently, IATA [cut profit targets](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-03/global-airline-profit-forecast-cut-by-iata-on-higher-fuel-costs), and the demand for logistics services [is outpacing supply](https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-are-spending-more-on-shipping-and-thats-not-changing-soon-1529413500?mod=hp_lista_pos1). And nowhere is this more keenly felt than in ocean freight where bunker prices have [spiked](https://www.joc.com/maritime-news/container-lines/cma-cgm/container-lines-face-steep-climb-recouping-bunker-fuel-surcharges_20180611.html) 19.4% since April. To recoup this money, carriers are implementing bunker surcharges on certain contracts.

There is a lot of confusing information on this complex and shifting topic, so we have pulled together this primer to provide as much clarity as possible.

**What is this surcharge that carriers are implementing and why?**

*Vessel fuel (known as bunker) is tied to the price of oil, set by *[Brent Crude Oil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brent_Crude)* price, a major benchmark for worldwide oil prices.*   The Brent Crude Oil price has been going up since [OPEC](https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/) (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) began reducing their oil supply in the beginning of 2017.
*Oil cuts are expected to continue through the end of 2018, with U.S. sanctions against Iran also expected to contribute to rising oil prices.*   Carriers were not prepared for the surge in bunker during the first quarter of 2018 and are implementing a cost-recovery program associated with bunker costs as prices for bunker fuel have been significantly rising.
*The cost-recovery program involves a surcharge that carriers will be implementing on worldwide trade lanes.*   Each carrier is referring to these charges with different naming conventions:
    *APL: Emergency Bunker Recovery (EBR)*   Hamburg Sud: Emergency Fuel Adjustment Factor (EFAF)
    *Hapag LLoyd: Operations Cost Recovery (OCR)*   Maersk: Emergency Bunker Surcharge (EBS)
    *   OOCL: Peak Season Surcharge (PSS)

**When will these charges be in effect?**

*Depending on trade lane, surcharges will be implemented anywhere from June 1 – July 15.*   The industry is unsure as to how long the surcharge will be in effect as carriers will determine the length at which they choose to keep this surcharge implemented.
*Surcharges vary in cost depending on carrier and trade lane.*   Range from $20/TEU to $90/TEU

**How will these surcharges affect our clients’ rates?**

[Ocean freight](https://www.flexport.com/products/ocean-freight)* rates presented by Flexport at initial quote will **always** include the associated surcharges for Emergency Bunker Surcharges (EBS), if applicable.*   In general, Emergency Bunker Surcharges (EBS) will not affect our fixed rate (NSA) clients at this time.

- Flexport will continue to communicate any changes in the markets to our clients.

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*This is a markdown version of [https://www.flex.thisisbrew.com/blog/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-emergency-bunker-surcharges/](https://www.flex.thisisbrew.com/blog/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-emergency-bunker-surcharges/) for AI/LLM consumption.*