Service Fees on Chinese Vessels Could Cost Billions

VesselBot has highlighted the significant financial exposure for major container shipping lines under the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) proposed Section 301 service fees targeting China's maritime sector.

USTR is proposing to impose fees and restrictions on international maritime transport services related to Chinese ship operators and Chinese-built ships, as it has found China’s acts, policies and practices to be unreasonable and to burden or restrict US commerce.

Of the global container fleet of approximately 6,000 vessels, a significant portion would be subject to these fees when calling at U.S. ports, says VesselBot. Chinese operator COSCO faces dual exposure under Categories 1 and 2, potentially doubling their fee burden for Chinese-built vessels. Based on current port call volumes and fee structures, major carriers could face annual fee exposure in the billions of dollars.

Fee structures will likely result in significant cost pass-through to U.S. importers and exporters. Carriers may implement surcharges or restructure services to mitigate financial impact, and U.S. port calls could be consolidated or reduced to minimize fee exposure.

While these measures are still under consideration by the U.S. government and may not ultimately be enforced, the company’s research quantifies the potential impact on carriers serving U.S. ports and the downstream implications for American importers and exporters.

Of the 8,775,208 total TEU arrived at U.S. ports in 2024, 1,507,717 TEU (17.18%) were transported by Chinese-built vessels.

Maersk: 2,020 annual U.S. port calls with 27.68% Chinese-built vessels, subject to approximately $760,000 per port call for Chinese-built vessels.

CMA CGM: 1,469 annual U.S. port calls with 35.91% Chinese-built vessels, subject to approximately $760,000 per port call for Chinese-built vessels.

COSCO: 838 annual U.S. port calls with 52.19% Chinese-built vessels, subject to fees up to $1 million per port call as both a Chinese operator (Category 1) and for Chinese-built vessels (Category 2). COSCO's Neo-Panamax+ vessels (3.5M TEU total capacity) face the highest per-vessel fees at approximately $145,407 per DWT ton. Vessel size significantly impacts fee exposure under the tonnage-based calculation option, and the average fee for COSCO vessels calculated by tonnage could reach $102,999 per port call.

X-Press Feeders: 506 annual U.S. port calls with 40.94% Chinese-built vessels, subject to approximately $760,000 per port call for Chinese-built vessels.