Less than three weeks before the US port fee targeting China-built or China-operated vessels is scheduled to take effect, some major carriers have begun adjusting their vessel deployment to avoid or absorb the extra cost rather than resorting to imposing a surcharge on clients – at least initially.
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“On the transpacific, there are early signs of a reduction in the deployment of Chinese-built vessels,” shipping consultancy Sea Intelligence said in a report last week.
After tracking vessel deployment in 2025, the consultancy said that, for the Asia-North America west coast trade, the share of Chinese-built vessels had trended downwards from a level of 25-30 per cent in the first half of 2025 to a range of 20-25 per cent in recent weeks.
The Asia-North America east coast trade also saw a similar, though less pronounced, trend, the report said.
In contrast, there does not yet seem to be any such development in the transatlantic trade, according to the report.
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Cosco Shipping Lines, the container arm of the Shanghai and Hong Kong-listed Cosco Shipping Holdings, has affirmed its commitment to maintaining the “stable operation” of its liner service to the US market.
“While the port service fees may bring some challenges to our operation, we remain confident in our US route network service,” the company said on September 16.