Ships React to Fees as China Calls for U.S. to “Correct its Wrongdoings"

China’s reciprocal port fee program launched yesterday, October 14, and is having an immediate impact as carriers report they are diverting ships, and others are receiving hefty bills. China continues its attacks in the media as it calls on the U.S. to meet it halfway in the current trade talks.

Carriers Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd were the first to react, announcing “temporary changes” for two U.S.-flagged vessels on Asian routes. Maersk writes in a customer advisory, “We will be making changes to the TP7 rotation to make sure your supply chains continue to run as smoothly as possible, if you are utilizing this service.”

Hapag appears to be the first to divert a vessel, with its Potomac Express (7,323 TEU) having proceeding to Busan, South Korea after omitting a scheduled call in Ningbo, China. Cargo bound for China, Maersk reports, is being discharged in Korea and will be delivered to its final destination by the existing Maersk network. Cargo that was to have been loaded in China was instead placed on the Maersk Luz (7,450 TEU). The two vessels are scheduled to meet in Kwangyang, South Korea, on October 24, where, subject to availability and capacity, containers will be transferred to the Potomac Express.

The Maersk Kinloss (6,200 TEU) is currently crossing the Pacific from Los Angeles. The vessel was also scheduled to go to Ningbo, but the call has been canceled. It is proceeding directly to Busan, where it will discharge its China-bound containers. The company says an unspecified shuttle will be used to lift containers from China and transship them to South Korea. The steps were taken to avoid the $56 per net ton port fee China introduced on U.S. ships.

Other vessels, however, seem not to have been as lucky. Matson’s U.S.-flagged Manukai (2,378 TEU) reached Ningbo and has gone on to Shanghai. China’s Xinde Marine News calculates that the vessel with a net tonnage of 11,149 tons has a fee of nearly $630,000. Chinese officials had not confirmed the fee was collected because the ship tied up early on October 14, shortly after the fee program began.

China’s Caixin Global cites another vessel operating under charter to Matson, Matson Waikiki, which officials from China’s Ministry of Transport told the outlet was liable for the fees, after it arrived in Shanghai on October 14. The vessel, built in 2003, has German ownership but has been chartered to Matson since late 2023 and sails under the Liberian flag. Carrying 4,870 TEUs, Caixin writes that with a net tonnage of 30,224, the ship is subject to a charge of about $1.7 million in additional port fees under China’s new fee schedule.

“China on Tuesday expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the U.S. move of imposing port fees and other restrictive measures on China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors, a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said,” writes the Global Times, which is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper. The long article goes on to detail the growing trade tensions and China’s mounting response to the USTR Section 301 probe. The article says the U.S. should “correct its wrongdoings, show sincerity for talks, and meet China halfway.”

The repercussions continue to mount in both China and the United States, with shipping caught in the middle. The BBC quotes an analyst who says, “Ships carrying dry bulk cargoes like coal and other raw materials could have to pay up to $3 million in port fees,” according to freight analyst Claire Chong from shipbroker Thurlestone Shipping. She estimates that with the escalating fees China announced, by 2028, some of the biggest vessels that carry nearly 200,000 tonnes in dry bulk could have to pay more than $10 million in fees.

Maritime intelligence technology company Pole Star reports it has seen a sharp dropoff in interest in ships. “We are seeing Chinese vessels that are being screened by our customers nearing zero. This is a concerning drop from the number we saw in January 2025, where 1,678 Chinese vessels entered the U.S. and were screened by our customers,” says Saleem Khan, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Pole Star Global.

Khan believes the new port fees have already started to change behavior in the shipping market. He expects short term, there will be more route changes like those seen today from Maersk and Hapag, as well as void sailing. After that, the expectation is that carriers will begin to pass along the fees in their freight rates.