CMA CGM, a leading shipping company, will implement a revised emergency fuel surcharge starting from March 27.

This revision comes in response to rising geopolitical tensions in the Near and Middle East, prompting the need for an updated pricing structure.

The revised surcharge rates are set at $130 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) for dry containers and $155 per TEU for reefer containers. These changes will apply to all intra-regional trades managed by the company.

The company's decision underscores the impact of international political dynamics on global logistics and freight costs, as shippers are forced to adapt to ongoing challenges in key maritime routes.

The International Maritime Organization will begin an "extraordinary session" on Wednesday to discuss shipping amid the Middle East war, as fears grow over the fate of thousands of stranded ships and seafarers.

The London-based UN agency -- responsible for regulating international shipping safety -- is set to consider adopting possible resolutions during the two-day gathering at its London headquarters.

The IMO's 40-member council could vote Thursday on several proposed resolutions, including one to "establish a safe maritime corridor to allow the safe evacuation of seafarers and ships stranded in the Arabian Gulf".

However, if passed, resolutions remain non-binding.

The meeting -- open to all 176 member states as well as dozens of NGOs and maritime industry bodies -- comes as Iran's retaliation to Israeli-US strikes cripples commercial shipping in or near the Strait of Hormuz.

An effective Iranian blockade of the key maritime chokepoint -- through which a fifth of global crude and liquified natural gas normally transits -- has dramatically spiked oil prices and spooked markets.

It has also left around 20,000 seafarers stranded on approximately 3,200 vessels west of the strait, according to the IMO.

At least 21 ships have been hit, targeted or reported attacks since the start of the conflict, according to an AFP tally based on data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the IMO and Iraqi and Iranian authorities.

A United Arab Emirates submission to the IMO ahead of the upcoming meeting noted "more than 18 merchant ships of various nationalities have been hit by projectiles, missiles, drone boats and sea mines"."

At least eight seafarers are confirmed dead with four still missing," the document submitted Monday added.

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