As the U.S. government’s new port fee policy targeting Chinese shipowners and ships built in Chinese shipyards is about to take effect, Chinese shipping giant COSCO Shipping Group is set to face over ten billion yuan in exorbitant port fees, becoming one of the most severely affected shipping companies.
Imminent Effective Date! US Publishes Details on Port Fees Targeting Chinese Vessels
Recently, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officially released the details regarding the imposition of port fees on vessels owned, operated, or built by China. According to the “Notice of Section 301 Investigation Actions and Proposed Actions Concerning China’s Dominance in Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding” published in the Federal Register on April 17, 2025, and incorporating the modifications announced on June 12, new fees have been established for vessels owned, operated, or built by China, as well as for all foreign-built car carriers.
These fees include:
Starting October 14, 2025, a fee of $50 per net ton for vessels owned or operated by Chinese entities arriving at U.S. ports;
Starting October 14, 2025, a fee of $18 per net ton or $120 per unloaded container for vessels built in China arriving at U.S. ports, whichever is higher;
Starting October 14, 2025, a fee of $14 per net ton for car carriers or /roll-off vessels arriving at U.S. ports.
The announcement indicates that, according to the exemptions and special provisions in various appendices, vessel operators must pay the relevant fees before the vessel’s first entry into a U.S. port or location from outside U.S. customs territory. The responsibility for determining whether a vessel is subject to fees lies with the operator, not with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
As vessels that fail to provide proof of payment may be denied /unloading operations or have their release delayed, authorities strongly recommend that responsible parties pay the fees before the vessel’s arrival at port. It is advised to initiate the payment process at least three working days prior to the vessel’s arrival. All fees must be paid through the U.S. Treasury’s official secure payment platform, Pay.gov, and cannot be paid at the port of entry.
Pay.gov will automatically calculate the fees based on the selections made on the “Section 301 Fee Payment Form” and transmit the payment confirmation information to the Vessel Entrance and Clearance System (VECS). If VECS cannot match the payment with the arriving vessel’s information, the declarant or vessel operator can use the payment confirmation email sent by Pay.gov as proof of payment.
Mandatory information required on the “Section 301 Fee Payment Form” includes vessel name, port of arrival, estimated arrival date, /official number, voyage number, vessel operator’s name, vessel operator’s Tax ID/CBP number, payer’s /contact information, and payment method. After submitting the above information, the payer must select the applicable fee category and enter relevant details as required.
It is understood that the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) initiated a Section 301 investigation into China’s maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors last April. On April 17, 2025, the U.S. side announced the final measures of the 301 investigation, deciding to impose fees on Chinese shipowners and operators, Chinese-built vessels, and car carriers built anywhere outside the United States. The relevant fees will begin to be collected after a 180-day grace period ends.
According to this plan, USTR will impose fees based on the net tonnage of vessels owned or operated by Chinese entities entering U.S. ports per voyage. The fee standard is $50 per net ton and will be increased annually over the next three years according to specific increments, rising to $140 by 2028.
For each vessel built in a Chinese shipyard, regardless of the nationality of the /operator, fees will also be levied per net ton or per unloaded container (whichever is higher). The initial fee standard is $18 per net ton, increasing to $33 by 2028; or $120 per container, increasing to $250 by 2028. Each vessel will be charged a maximum of 5 times per year.
Calculated based on the progressive fee mechanism set in the latest plan, a 10,000 TEU container ship built in a Chinese shipyard calling at a U.S. port will be charged $1.2 million in port fees per voyage (approximately RMB 8.5458 million), which will increase to $2.5 million by 2028 (approximately RMB 17.8037 million).
COSCO Shipping Bears the Brunt! Port Fees to Exceed Ten Billion Next Year
USTR’s Section 301 tariffs will impose heavy financial pressure on the global shipping industry. Alphaliner points out that if the top ten major container liner companies maintain their current deployment on U.S. routes, they could face up to $3.2 billion (approximately RMB 22.783 billion) in additional fees by 2026.
Alphaliner stated that COSCO Shipping Group is the shipping company most severely affected by the Section 301 tariffs. It is estimated that COSCO Shipping’s U.S. routes would need to pay $2,121 per TEU (approximately RMB 15,100) in port fees, compared to only $26 per TEU for Maersk’s U.S. routes.
According to Alphaliner’s calculations, assuming no change in fleet deployment next year, COSCO Shipping Group faces port fees as high as $1.53 billion (approximately RMB 10.893 billion), accounting for more than half of the estimated total cost of $3.2 billion for the top ten liner companies. Other significantly affected companies include ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM), Japan’s Ocean Network Express (ONE), and France’s CMA CGM, with estimated fees of $510 million, $363 million, and $335 million respectively, as these three companies “charter a large number of vessels from Chinese shipowners.”
Furthermore, Maersk of the Gemini Alliance is relatively less affected, with estimated fees of only $17.5 million, while Hapag-Lloyd, due to its use of vessels owned by Chinese shipowners, faces estimated fees of approximately $105 million. In contrast, Evergreen Marine and Korea’s HMM can completely avoid USTR fees, with HMM’s fleet primarily consisting of ships built in Korea.
Alphaliner stated that Seaspan, the world’s largest independent container shipowner headquartered in Hong Kong, China, will be a key factor in this policy. Its chartered fleet has 54 vessels totaling about 620,000 TEU deployed on U.S. routes, which could potentially incur $1.31 billion in fees for its various charterers. To circumvent the port fees, Seaspan is reportedly relocating its headquarters from Hong Kong, China to Singapore, while reflagging about 100 of its vessels from the Hong Kong flag to the Singapore flag.
Additionally, Alphaliner also noted that the impact of these measures on various companies could vary significantly before liner companies take steps to reduce the impact through adjustments in vessel deployment and other mitigation measures.
In response to the US port fee policy, COSCO Shipping Lines previously published a “Notice to Customers Regarding USTR 301 Investigation” on its official website on September 16. COSCO Shipping Lines pointed out that although this fee may pose certain challenges to the company’s operations, COSCO Shipping Lines has always been confident in its US route network services, insists on investing stable capacity, maintains stable service quality, and continuously provides customers with reliable, safe, and high-quality logistics solutions. At the same time, COSCO Shipping Lines will actively improve its product structure to adapt to the constantly changing demands of the US market and maintain freight rates and surcharges that are competitive and commensurate with market levels. COSCO Shipping Lines has long been deeply cultivating the US market, strictly adheres to all US laws, regulations, and policy requirements, and has always been a trusted partner in promoting US import and export trade. In the future, the company will uphold resilience and determination, commit to excellent service, operate with the philosophy of delivering value, and steadily manage its US liner shipping business.
Furthermore, OOCL has also issued a statement saying that although this policy will have a certain impact on the company’s operating costs, the company’s long-term commitment to the US market remains unwavering. For decades, OOCL, as a trusted partner, has continuously supported US import and export trade, providing safe, efficient, and high-quality logistics solutions. OOCL is committed to continuing to uphold the core concept of integrity in operations, focusing on improving schedule reliability, strengthening safety guarantees, and fully fulfilling service commitments. At the same time, OOCL is actively optimizing its products and services to better meet the evolving demands of the US market and, while maintaining excellent service quality, ensure that rates and surcharges remain consistent with market levels, reflecting fair and transparent market principles. OOCL emphasizes that it will continue to deeply cultivate the US market, aim for excellence, be customer-centric, firmly face challenges, and steadily advance business development. OOCL deeply values the trust and support of its customers and will reciprocate every bit of trust with practical actions.
The statements from COSCO Shipping Lines and OOCL mean that COSCO Shipping will not withdraw from the US routes and will maintain its market share on the US routes, while also not passing on the USTR fees to customers.
China Takes Action! Amends the “International Maritime Regulations” to Improve Countermeasure Provisions
In response to the US Section 301 actions, China has also taken corresponding countermeasures. At the end of September, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council signed a State Council decree, promulgating the “Decision of the State Council on Amending the ‘Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on International Maritime Transportation’”, which explicitly states: “Where any country or region adopts, or assists or supports the adoption of, discriminatory prohibitions, restrictions or other similar measures against operators, ships or crew members engaged in the international maritime transportation of the People’s Republic of China and its auxiliary businesses, the government of the People’s Republic of China shall take necessary countermeasures according to the actual situation, unless the relevant treaties or agreements can provide full and effective relief.”
According to the Decision, Article 46 of the “Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on International Maritime Transportation” is amended as follows: “Where a country or region that has concluded or jointly participated in an international maritime treaty or agreement with the People’s Republic of China violates the provisions of the treaty or agreement, causing the People’s Republic of China to lose or impair benefits enjoyed under that treaty or agreement, or hinders the achievement of the treaty’s or agreement’s objectives, the government of the People’s Republic of China has the right to require the government of the relevant country or region to cease the aforementioned actions, take appropriate remedial measures, and may, according to the relevant treaty or agreement, suspend or terminate the fulfillment of relevant obligations.
“Where any country or region adopts, or assists or supports the adoption of, discriminatory prohibitions, restrictions or other similar measures against operators, ships or crew members engaged in the international maritime transportation of the People’s Republic of China and its auxiliary businesses, the government of the People’s Republic of China shall take necessary countermeasures according to the actual situation, unless the relevant treaties or agreements can provide full and effective relief. These countermeasures include, but are not limited to, imposing special fees on ships from that country or region calling at Chinese ports, prohibiting or restricting ships from that country or region from entering or leaving Chinese ports, prohibiting or restricting organizations and individuals from that country or region from obtaining data and information related to China’s international maritime transportation, and from operating international maritime transportation and its auxiliary businesses to and from Chinese ports.”
On September 30, the China Shipowners’ Association issued a statement expressing firm support for amending the “International Maritime Regulations” to refine and improve the countermeasure provisions. The China Shipowners’ Association, on behalf of all its member units, expressed complete agreement and firm support for this.
The China Shipowners’ Association pointed out: “International shipping, as an important bridge and link in world trade, plays an irreplaceable key role in promoting economic and trade exchanges among countries and maintaining the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains. Chinese shipowners have always abided by international shipping rules and market principles, adhered to the value orientation of open cooperation and fair competition, actively integrated into and deeply participated in the construction of the international shipping market, providing stable, efficient, and high-quality logistics services for global trade, and have made significant contributions to promoting the prosperity and development of the world economy and trade.”
“Our country has consistently upheld the principle of friendly cooperation and mutual benefit to promote the development of maritime relations with countries around the world. The ‘Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on International Maritime Transportation’ promulgated in 2001 translated China’s WTO international maritime commitments into domestic law, making the international shipping industry one of the earliest and most open sectors to the outside world. For over 20 years since joining the WTO, China has firmly fulfilled its WTO maritime commitments and, through the construction of free trade zones, actively expanded the breadth and depth of opening up in the international shipping industry, attracting enterprises from various countries to invest and conduct international shipping business in China, enjoying fair and equitable treatment. Benefiting from China’s opening-up policies and fair competition environment, major international shipping companies have established offices and opened routes in China. China’s shipping routes and service networks cover major countries and regions worldwide, making China the country with the largest volume of seaborne cargo transportation in the world, effectively advancing the development of the world shipping industry and supporting global trade and economic development.”
The statement said that currently, certain countries are abusing “Section 301 investigations” in the maritime sector, issuing and implementing discriminatory and restrictive measures imposing port fees on Chinese enterprises. All Chinese shipowners resolutely oppose this and will protect their rights and interests in accordance with the law, while also overcoming difficulties to continue ensuring the stability of the international maritime logistics supply chain and maintaining normal international economic and trade order.
The “Decision of the State Council on Amending the ‘Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on International Maritime Transportation’” further enriches and refines the provisions on countermeasures in Article 46 of the Regulations, aiming to effectively safeguard China’s maritime rights and interests and ensure a fair competition environment in the international shipping industry through legal means. In response to any discriminatory restrictive measures imposed by any country against Chinese shipping enterprises, ships, or crew members, we have the right to take necessary countermeasures in accordance with the law. This is of great significance for promoting the construction of a fair and just international maritime governance system, facilitating smooth global trade, and maintaining the security and resilience of industrial and supply chains.
The China Shipowners’ Association will continue to actively play the role of a bridge and platform as an industry organization, deepen international cooperation and exchanges, promote the high-quality and healthy development of the industry, and contribute to building an open, inclusive, and mutually beneficial global shipping system.
