Bunker adjustment factor

The bunker adjustment factor is a surcharge added to a base liner freight rate to recover changes in fuel cost between the rate’s setting and the voyage. Carriers compute it from a reference fuel price, the trade’s fuel consumption per container, and a transit-time assumption, then revise it quarterly or monthly. After the 2020 sulphur cap and the rise of very-low-sulphur fuel oil, several lines split the surcharge into a low-sulphur fuel component. It is distinct from charter-party bunker clauses, which allocate fuel cost between owner and charterer rather than to the cargo interest.