Cargoes are being discharged at safer ports and sent overland as carriers declare “end of voyage” and insurers tighten war-risk coverage
Brazilian agribusiness commodity cargoes on ships headed for the Middle East are being left at other ports partway through the journey, outside the conflict zone, and then continuing overland, traders and exporters said.
This has happened with cargo approaching conflict areas such as Israel, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
A sugar trader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some shipping companies have declared an “end of voyage” on certain routes without reaching the destination. The companies redirected ships to ports along the way and told clients to pick up the cargo and move it by land.
Some sugar containers have already been unloaded at ports different from the original destination and then shipped overland. The trader said a logistics solution was found for those sugar cargoes and the additional cost was passed on to buyers.
A mid-sized Brazilian meatpacker that exports beef received a notice from MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) on Thursday (5) declaring “end of voyage” for all cargo to the Persian Gulf.
Two containers of meat from the company are en route to Dubai. MSC said the cargo may be redirected to another port outside the conflict zone, but the additional costs must be borne by the Brazilian exporter.
“All cargo currently in transit will be diverted to the next safe port of discharge. There, the cargo will be discharged and made available to customers for pickup and local delivery. A mandatory surcharge of $800 per container will be applied, without exception, to all affected cargo in order to cover costs resulting from the diversion,” the notice obtained by Valor said.
The text adds that unloading expenses—including handling, storage and other charges—will be entirely at the cargo’s risk and responsibility. MSC did not respond to a request for comment.
“I had never received a notice about end of voyage. They’re going to abandon two of our containers at a port they still haven’t told us, and if we want to remove them from there we still have to pay,” the meatpacker’s owner said, also speaking anonymously.
Change-of-destination requests
To send the cargo to an alternative destination, the exporter will need to make a new transport booking. Another option is to change the destination, with requests handled as a priority but subject to operational feasibility, ship routing and how the security situation in the region evolves, the notice said.
Even so, acceptance of a COD (Change of Destination) request “should not be interpreted as a guarantee of delivery to the requested destination nor as a waiver of any of the Carrier’s rights under the Bill of Lading (contract),” the notice said. “Such acceptance does not relieve the cargo exporter of payment of any additional costs resulting from the current conflict situation, including costs at the transshipment port and/or the new port of destination,” it added.
Insurance constraints
For ships already at sea toward the Middle East, war-risk insurance costs have not changed. For new shipments, however, insurers are canceling coverage and reviewing policies case by case, with higher premiums.
Roberto Perosa, president of Abiec, the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association, said there are also restrictions and difficulties at the Suez Canal in Egypt as a result of the war. One alternative route is around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa.
“It’s not a big effect yet, but it’s already starting to happen and it has the potential to have a very strong impact on the sector,” he said. Companies with cargo already sent to the region will have to negotiate redirection and ways to compensate importers, Perosa said. “The meatpacker won’t leave the importer without receiving the cargo that has already been paid for. They don’t want to lose the client,” he added.
Beef exports to the Middle East totaled about $2 billion in 2025. But the war involving Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz could affect nearly $6 billion in business, Abiec estimated.
That figure corresponds to cargo that passes through the region’s logistics hub and then continues to other destinations—between 30% and 40% of the total shipped last year by Brazilian companies.
Shipping companies have already suspended new bookings of refrigerated containers for cargo bound for the Middle East or transiting the region. In the sector’s view, short-term flow has already been interrupted, Abiec warned.
In the sugar trade, there have been no relevant interruptions so far, the trader told Valor.
