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Tit-for-tat US, China port fees to squeeze ship

availability

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Risk of capacity crunch sends shipping rates higher

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Consumers likely to pay for higher shipping costs

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Vessel owners seek clarity in how China levies are

assessed

By Lisa Baertlein and Jeslyn Lerh

LOS ANGELES/SINGAPORE, Oct 17 (Reuters) - New fees

imposed on port calls by China and the U.S. are reducing the

number of cargo vessels available for moving goods and

threatening to increase consumer costs in both countries,

industry executives said.

Ship operators have taken China-linked ships out of U.S.

trade lanes to avoid new port fees that started on October 14.

They are also moving U.S.-linked ships out of China schedules to

avert retaliatory fees that went into effect the same day.

Those workarounds are disrupting transits and squeezing ship

cargo space, even as operators remain uncertain about how China

assigns U.S. ownership or control in its fee assessment.

"The list of available ships to call China's ports is

definitely smaller than before, across all shipping markets,"

said Stamatis Tsantanis, CEO of dry bulk shipper Seanergy

Maritime Holdings.

"Eventually, all the costs will fall down to the actual

consumer, and that's going to make things way more expensive,"

Tsantanis said.

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) gained 12.9%

to reach a four-week high, driven by gains on transpacific

routes that saw big rate moves last weekend after China

announced its port fees, Jefferies analyst Omar Nokta said in a

note on Friday.

Major container shipping lines including Maersk

, Hapag-Lloyd ( HLAGF ) and CMA CGM have already

reshuffled ship trade lane assignments to avoid the U.S. port

fees.

This week, Gemini Alliance members Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd ( HLAGF )

told customers their Maersk Kinloss and Potomac Express vessels

would skip calls to Ningbo, the only China port those

U.S.-flagged, South Korea-built vessels visit.

"This new regulation will lead to further dislocation of

vessels and trade flows," said Gernot Ruppelt, CEO of Ardmore

Shipping ( ASC ), which transports clean petroleum products,

chemicals and vegetable oils.

"Markets have yet to start pricing in this complexity

premium," said Ruppelt. Ardmore has no port calls scheduled in

China, he said.

TRADE TURMOIL BOOSTS TANKER MARKET RATES

China's retaliatory port fees on U.S.-linked ships have

driven up rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) voyages to

China, the world's largest crude importer.

That is because the new levies have reduced the supply of

tankers that can be chartered to avoid incurring hefty port

fees.

Benchmark rates for VLCCs hit two-week highs on Tuesday

following the implementation of the port fees, before cooling

slightly toward the end of the week.

Consultancy Energy Aspects increased its fourth-quarter 2025

forecast for VLCC rates, adding there is further upside risk if

disruptions escalate.

"The exemption of Chinese-built vessels from Chinese port

fees has softened the potential impact somewhat, though we still

see a significant number of U.S.-owned or operated vessels

affected," Gibson Shipbrokers said.

In the dry bulk segment that transports everything from coal

and iron ore to commodities like grains and salt, there are 60

to 70 ships affected by the latest fees, about 3% of the

capesize fleet, Seanergy's Tsantanis said.

"Given the disproportionately large incidence of China

discharge in the cape(size) segment, this is likely to have an

appreciable impact on our market," which was already

experiencing relatively restricted ship supply, he said.