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News
Find all the latest news, press releases and status messages from IMS.
We would like to inform you today about an adjustment to the Emergency Fuel Surcharge.
Due to continued high fuel costs and ongoing volatility in the energy markets, the Emergency Fuel Surcharge is set at 12.0%.
The surcharge is applied as follows:
• Diesel surcharge March 2026: 11.0%
• Plus Emergency Fuel Surcharge: 12.0% on basic freight
The surcharge applies to all transports with a service date from 23.03.2026.
The surcharge is regularly reviewed and adjusted accordingly based on further diesel price developments.
We are continuously monitoring the development of fuel prices and will adjust the surcharge accordingly as soon as the situation eases.
We would like to thank you very much for your understanding and your cooperative cooperation.
If you have any questions, we are happy to help you at any time
-> Dispositive access control in Hamburg has been in effect since March 10, 2026. Trains are occasionally being denied entry into the Hamburg rail network, leading to further train delays.
-> Dispositive access control in Bremerhaven has been in effect since March 14, 2026. Trains are being partially denied entry into the Bremerhaven infrastructure, leading to further train delays.
-> Signal system malfunction between Poggenhagen and Wunstorf since 6:30 a.m. this morning. The malfunction is expected to continue until this afternoon.
-> On March 18, 2026, there will be staff meetings at all HHLA terminals in Hamburg. Between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., there will be no handling of truck- or rail shipments. Based on past experience, it takes another 30–60 minutes after the staff meeting ends for the equipment to be staffed again and for work to resume.
Due to the current geopolitical developments in the Middle East and the associated turbulence on the international energy markets, diesel prices in Europe have risen significantly and unexpectedly within a very short period of time.
This development has a direct impact on the cost structure in road freight transport and thus also on container logistics.
The IMS Group has been monitoring this development very closely for several days. Since diesel represents one of the largest variable cost factors in transport, the short-term and sharp price increase is currently leading to considerable additional costs.
In order to be able to react to this extraordinary and short-term market situation, we are forced to temporarily introduce an Emergency Fuel Surcharge (EFS).
Taking into account the current diesel surcharge of 11% (March 2026), this is currently plus 6%.
The surcharge is applied as follows:
• Plus 6% Emergency Fuel Surcharge on basic freight
The surcharge applies to all transports with a service date from March 10, 2026.
The surcharge is regularly reviewed and adjusted accordingly based on further diesel price developments.
This measure serves to at least partially offset the current extraordinary and short-term cost increases in the energy sector.
We will continue to monitor the development of energy prices very closely, regularly review the measures based on the market situation and adapt them accordingly.
As soon as energy prices stabilize or the regular monthly diesel floater fully covers the increased costs again, the additional “emergency fuel surcharge” will be lifted again.
We would like to thank you very much for your understanding and continued partnership-based cooperation and are happy to answer any questions you may have at any time.
Due to the continuing extreme weather conditions in the Hamburg area (persistent heavy snowfall), there are currently significant restrictions on rail handling at the Hamburg port terminals.
CTA:
The CTA is currently the only terminal where limited rail handling is still taking place.
Nevertheless, there are significant delays in both train handling and slot completion.
Only wagons or positions that already had containers on them before arrival at the CTA are being loaded.
Snow-covered or icy wagon positions are currently not being loaded and remain empty.
EKOM (Eurokombi Terminal):
Rail handling continues to be completely suspended.
According to the latest telephone feedback from the terminal, it is not to be expected that operations will resume in the course of today.
CTB:
Operations at the CTB also continue to be completely suspended.
No train handling is currently taking place. There is currently no reliable information on when operations will resume;
and it is currently unlikely that operations will resume during the course of the day.
Overall situation at the Port of Hamburg:
Due to the situation described, further backlog effects are to be expected.
It is very likely that additional export trains will be turned away and will either be severely delayed or not reach Hamburg at all for the time being.
In addition, the overloaded and cluttered port infrastructure as well as persistent shunting bottlenecks lead to delays in the delivery and departure of trains.
We are in constant communication with the terminals and will inform you immediately about any relevant changes or easing of the situation.
Please take the current situation into account in your further planning.
Please note that due to the current situation, we cannot guarantee that presentation deadlines, train acceptance deadlines, and, as a result, ship loading deadlines will be met.
We ask for your understanding that we cannot accept any liability for any additional costs resulting from this.
We have been informed that weather conditions in Hamburg are deteriorating due to persistent heavy snowfall. The German Weather Service has also issued a storm warning for the coming hours.
For these reasons, the terminals in the Port of Hamburg have ceased operations. In addition, the Köhlbrand Bridge has been closed. As a result, there is currently no handling taking place in the Port of Hamburg. The railway lines are also icy.
As a result, there may be further delays in train departures and arrivals, delivery dates cannot be guaranteed.
The Bremerhaven port is also preparing for massive amounts of new snow, which will also make operations there considerably more difficult.
Due to the current weather conditions, there are currently significant restrictions in the Port of Hamburg and in rail traffic.
Due to the weather, some terminals have completely suspended operations. Other terminals are currently operating with significant delays. In addition, access control measures have been put in place. The overall situation remains unclear.
Further snowfall has been forecast for the German North Sea ports, and the DB InfraGO network is also operating at full capacity, particularly in northern Germany.
We would like to inform you of the following details:
• Due to snow and icing, handling at Eurogate / Eurokombi remains suspended.
• Rail handling at CT Burchardkai has only resumed to a very limited extent due to weather conditions. Depending on the respective slot, the current backlog is up to 45 hours. The early shift is currently processing slots up to and including 613.
• At CTA Altenwerder, the terminal is currently running approximately 23 hours behind schedule in individual slots. The calculated delay does not take the night shift into account ; in individual cases, the actual delay may differ.
We are in close contact with all parties involved and will, of course, inform you immediately
of any relevant changes or new developments.
As part of the amendment to the Port Security Act, a new procedure will become mandatory from October 1, 2025.
To this end, German Ports has developed a procedure called “Secure Release Order,” which must be applied.
Firstly, we would like to provide you with our German Ports ID so that we can forward or transfer exemption rights:
German Ports ID: DE286002586000000
In order to ensure a smooth transition for all parties involved and at the same time strengthen the resilience of import processes in the long term, the changeover will take place in stages as outlined below:
-> starting October 1, 2025:
Start of the SRO implementation with the shipping companies.
For all other process participants, a "downgrade to PIN" remains temporarily possible, so that the PIN-based process can continue to be used until November 2, 2025.
-> the period up to November 2, 2025:
will be actively used for the onboarding of participants (freight forwarders, importers and carriers).
-> from November 3, 2025:
Mandatory start of the full SRO process for all import participants at two smaller terminals (one in Hamburg and one in Bremerhaven or Wilhelmshaven).
-> from November 17, 2025:
Gradual commissioning of all other terminals. Detailed planning for when each terminal will be commissioned will follow.
The implementation process described above was developed in close consultation with the relevant authorities and can be viewed in detail on the German Ports website.
To ensure a smooth transition, we ask that you actively use the remaining time for onboarding and preparation.
Secondly, we are obliged to introduce a "Secure Release Order (SRO) surcharge" of € 5,00 per imported loaded container from the loading date October 1, 2025.
This surcharge is being introduced on a mandatory basis to compensate for the costs incurred in connection with the use of the “German Ports” platform and to cover the increased administrative costs.
The surcharge applies to all imported loaded containers handled via German seaports.
If you have any questions about this matter, please do not hesitate to contact your usual contact person at our company.