Djibouti Moves to Curb War Surcharges on Ethiopia’s Trade Lifeline

Mar 21 , 2026. By BEZAWIT HULUAGER ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )

Djibouti has told shipping agents not to impose retroactive freight surcharges on cargo loaded before the war in Iran began. The order, signed by Aboubaker Omar Hadi of the Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority, was dated March 10, 2026. It drew a line between cargo booked before the crisis and the higher-risk pricing that followed. It frames the issue not as a routine port-fee dispute but as an attempt to contain the spread of wartime costs.

Djibouti has moved to draw a line under the costs of the Gulf crisis, telling shipping agents not to retroactively impose freight surcharges on cargo loaded before the war in Iran began.

The order, signed by Aboubaker Omar Hadi, chairman of the Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority (DPFZA), seeks to protect cargo owners and consignees on shipments in transit or arranged before conditions deteriorated. The Chairman's letter was issued to all licensed shipping agents, barring them from acting for shipowners or principal carriers collecting additional surcharges on cargo loaded before the onset of the war that the United States and Israel are waging against Iran.

"All licensed shipping agents at the Port of Djibouti that any cargo loaded before the Gulf crisis shall not be subject to any additional surcharge fees," said Hadi in his letter, dated March 10, 2026.

According to people familiar with the issue and operating within the port, ship operators have begun charging  2,000 dollars per TEU, even for vessels transiting the Red Sea, far from the Gulf. They insist the Chairman is protecting cargo owners and importers served by ports in Djibouti.

The Chairman threatened that agents who violate his warning face regulatory penalties under port rules. Djibouti port authorities had not responded to Fortune's queries by press time on Saturday night.

However, framed as a measure of fairness in the maritime sector, Hadi's order is believed to be intended to steady a supply chain strained by the ongoing war.

For Ethiopia, the measure matters less as a legal technicality than as a buffer against a larger bill. The country relies heavily on Djibouti ports for external trade, and any move to curb add-on shipping charges would offer relief to importers and exporters facing higher freight and insurance costs. The pressure is shifting from port surcharges to insurance and war-risk exposure.

Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprise (ESLSE), which dominates 93pc of the country’s shipping logistics market, does not see the order as a threat to its position.

According to Demissew Benti, head of corporate communications at the Enterprise, the directive does not affect the liner itself but rather associated companies around it, even where there is a representative office at the Port of Djibouti.

"We aren't collecting a war surtax on shipments handled through Djibouti," Demissew told Fortune. "The order is advantageous because it lowers logistics costs and helps reduce product prices."

As of 2025, the Enterprise accounts for 36pc to 40pc of shipments in the 93pc market, using its own 10 vessels, while the remaining is handled through rented vessels, otherwise known in the industry as slot chartering.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) operates 6.4 million TEUs across 889 vessels and controls 20.2pc of the global market after overtaking Maersk in 2022. As of 2025, MSC accounts for 19.9pc of ESLSE shipments. Maersk of Denmark follows with 4.5 million TEUs and 672 ships, equal to 14.3pc of the world market. Part of the Gemini Alliance, it holds a 14.6pc share in ESLSE’s shipment market. France’s CMA CGM, a member of the Ocean Alliance, ranks third with 3.9 million TEUs across 664 ships, representing 12.7pc of global capacity, and its share in ESLSE shipments is also 12.7pc. China’s COSCO follows with a 10.6pc global share and 519 ships, while its share in ESLSE shipments was 10.8pc. Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd has 2.35 million TEUs and 300 ships, giving it a 7.4pc share of global capacity. Like Maersk, it is aligned with the Gemini Alliance.

Djibouti’s ports handle up to 30 million tonnes of cargo each year, and Ethiopian trade accounts for half of that volume. More than 90pc of Djibouti’s one million TEUs are tied to Ethiopian imports and exports. Each year, more than 15 million tonnes of Ethiopian goods move through Djibouti. Dry bulk, including grains, clinker, and construction materials, accounts for about 13 million tonnes. Liquid bulk, mainly petroleum products, adds another five million tonnes.

In 2023/24, Ethiopia’s exports totalled four million to five million tonnes, led by coffee, oilseeds and a modest flow of minerals. Containers are increasingly used to ship processed coffee, sesame and other oilseeds, cut flowers, vegetables, and a rising volume of garments from industrial parks. That gives Ethiopia reason to worry when a maritime crisis disrupts not only freight rates but also the insurance costs underpinning the trade itself.

However, containerised cargo is only 10pc to 15pc of Ethiopia’s trade by volume, or up to three million tonnes, but it carries a larger share by value. Annual throughput linked to Ethiopia is estimated at 800,000 TEUs and has been expanding by as much as 10pc a year as manufacturing and agro-processing gain ground.

International insurance costs have increased by 35pc, excluding war-risk coverage. Africa Re, the lead reinsurer and a pan-African reinsurance company, has issued a cancellation notice for war-risk coverage in its marine reinsurance contracts due to escalating geopolitical hostilities involving the United States, Israel, and Iran in the Persian Gulf region and nearby waters.

The notice, dated March 6, 2026, gives seven days’ notice of cancellation of existing war-risk protections for voyages or transits through or near the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman, and other designated high-risk waters. Cancellation takes effect at the end of that period. For all future voyages and transits into or through those zones, including the Strait of Hormuz, Persian or Arabian Gulf waters, the Gulf of Oman, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and adjacent affected areas, war-risk coverage is immediately excluded unless Africa Re reinstates it separately under extra terms, conditions and premiums.

According to Africa Re, the step followed a review of exposure amid rising operational and geopolitical risks posed by ongoing hostilities. The move follows actions by marine insurers and protection and indemnity clubs. The consequences are shipping disruption, stranded vessels, rising freight and tanker rates, and pressure on energy flows through key chokepoints. It also signals a reduced appetite among reinsurers for such exposure, a shift that could raise costs across marine cargo, hull insurance and energy transport.

Sani Tuki, an investment advisor, warned that such charges eventually land on consumers.

"Importers are likely to protect their margins and pass the higher costs on to buyers," he told Fortune.

Sani argued that import substitution could serve as a partial answer, but only if sectors receive substantial subsidies. He also urged policymakers to explore alternative logistics routes to reduce the spillover from international conflict into the local market.

The concern is acute for Ethiopia’s insurance industry because most insurers have relied on Africa Re for the past 40 years. That makes near-term cost increases likely as insurers face extra payments, reinsurers charge more and risks rise alongside oil prices. Even where premium rates appear unchanged, the underlying value of goods has increased, pushing insurance costs higher.

Insurance professionals, such as Asseged Geberemedehen, warn that Africa Re’s move could hurt business models across sectors. Asseged argued that if Ethio Re had responded by expanding its capacity, the disruption might have opened a better opportunity for the domestic reinsurer to compete against Africa Re.

PUBLISHED ON Mar 21,2026 [ VOL 26 , NO 1351]