Amazon Basin Drought Forces New Sea Freight Surcharges
The Amazon Basin continues to face historically low water levels, creating widespread challenges for communities, ecosystems, and sea freight.
Following the extreme drought of 2024, rivers such as the Madeira and Rio Negro have failed to recover, leaving them at record lows and drastically reducing flow volumes.
The situation, largely attributed to climate change, has placed intense strain on local populations, who are grappling with food and water insecurity as transportation routes remain disrupted.
At the same time, shipping and freight operations in the region have been severely impacted, with carriers forced to adapt to the difficult conditions.
Heavily loaded barges and cargo vessels are struggling to navigate shallow waters, prompting shipping lines to implement operational restrictions to ensure reliability.
A key measure has been the introduction of Low Water Surcharges (LWS), which currently range between $1,000 and $2,000 per container, depending on carrier and destination.
Maersk introduced its surcharge on August 19th, while Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM will follow on September 1st, as they anticipate navigation restrictions lasting from week 42 through week 52 of 2025.
In addition, Maersk has cautioned that river closures may be unavoidable between weeks 44 and 46, typically late October to mid-November, should water levels drop further. Such closures would create additional pressure on supply chains and local trade flows.
Envio International is closely monitoring developments and will provide updates should conditions worsen or further measures be enforced.
