The situation in the western seaports remains unstable: although waiting times for our barges have become shorter compared to the month of July, reliable and punctual processing of the barges is still not in sight.

Waiting times may decrease at one terminal whereas at another terminal they may become longer again, and they are still reaching peaks of up to 72 hours. We are therefore continuing our intensive discussions with all parties concerned, at both seaports.

The situation continues to have an impact on the costs of barge transport.

For this reason we ask your understanding for the necessity of continuing to charge a congestion surcharge of EUR 19.50 per container. The surcharge applies irrespective of the navigational area of the Rhine, for all containers (full and empty) and for all terminals in the seaports of Antwerp and Rotterdam.

As soon as the situation has fundamentally improved, we will inform you and will discontinue the surcharge.