Container ships, the backbone of global trade and transporting about 90% of the world’s manufactured goods, have become a new target in Donald Trump’s conflict with China, and none of the major shipping companies appear to be immune from the potential additional costs.
Trump wants to penalize Chinese ship operators to stimulate the development of the US shipbuilding industry. Among the proposals is a fee of at least $1 million each time a Chinese-operated or Chinese-made vessel enters a US port.
Because Chinese vessels constitute a significant portion of current fleets and future orders, major shipping companies will incur significant costs due to potential port fees unless they take extraordinary measures, according to Peter Sand, senior analyst at Oslo-based shipping industry analytics platform Xeneta.
Sand added, “We expect this measure to be implemented, perhaps with some modifications, but the fees will eventually be implemented. Shipping companies face a potentially significant restructuring of their networks, and this naturally carries additional costs.”
