Eight Asian shipping lines have imposed an emergency bunker surcharge on consignees to cover increasing fuel costs, according to Lloyds List.

The move has been contested by the Asian Shippers’ Council (ASC), which said the new charges were put in place just before the European Commission’s implementation of final liner shipping rules concerning competition, which come into effect on 18 October.

The ASC said the US$58 fee took advantage of a lack of coherent legislation in Asia.

The fee increases were announced separately by each liner, but were all declared on the same day and involved the same price rise, and the ASC fears the collaboration heralds further price increases in the future.

The shipping lines involved were OOCL, TS Lines, Wan Hai Lines, Regional Container Lines, Evergreen Marine, Yang Ming Lines, Kanway Shipping and Cheng Lie Navigation.