Slow steaming has been implemented by the main liner shipping companies since 2008 The reduction in vessel speed affects fuel consumption and should be reflected within the fuel surcharges paid by shippers This article assesses if this was the case for the main outbound European container trades from the port of Antwerp Through an extensive analysis of liner service characteristics fuel costs and fuel surcharges this paper provides an answer to three research questions a How significant are slow steaming practices in container liner shipping b What is the impact of slow steaming on fuel consumption and liner service characteristics and c To what extent has slow steaming changed the relation between fuel costs and fuel surcharges imposed on shippers by shipping lines Slow steaming or the reduction in the sailing speed of maritime vessels has become an increasingly common practice in container liner shipping as the amount and unit size of available vessel capacity rises and the price of fuel increases Alphaliner 2010a Slow steaming can help to absorb vessel overcapacity as a slower commercial speed will require more vessels to maintain the same service frequency per liner service Slow steaming has also proven to be an effective way to save on fuel costs and to restore liner shipping company profitability Slow steaming is also claimed to reduce environmental emissions by ships at sea Kollamthodi et al 2008 Buhaug et al 2009 Corbett et al 2009 Cariou 2011 Faber et al 2010 However slow steaming practices added a new source of contention between shippers and ship owners regarding fuel surcharges known as Bunker Adjustment Factor or BAF implemented by shipping lines since 1974 Menachof and Dicer 2001 143 Shippers organizations such as the European Shippers Council have objected for years that the way BAFs are determined is opaque without uniformity and involves a significant element of revenue making ESC 2003 20 ESC 2006 The anticompetitive effect of BAF was already subject to studies shedding light on a tendency of BAF of amplifying bunker prices rises Cariou and Wolff 2006 Meyrick and Associates 2008 impacting