Ships divert, directors resign as US-China port fees rock shipping industry

Global carriers scramble to adapt as new US and Chinese duties take effect - and first vessel reportedly hit with 4.5 million yuan charge Sh...

Global carriers scramble to adapt as new US and Chinese duties take effect - and first vessel reportedly hit with 4.5 million yuan charge

Shipping companies are rushing to divert vessels and adjust their corporate structures, as they strive to minimise their exposure to steep new US and Chinese port fees that took effect on Tuesday.

The United States has targeted Chinese-linked vessels with hefty charges as part of a broader push to curtail China's dominance in global shipbuilding, prompting Beijing to impose similar duties on US-owned or operated ships in an apparent tit-for-tat move.

European shipping giants Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, which collaborate as members of an alliance named Gemini, have been among the first to respond to the new fees by diverting two US-flagged vessels away from Chinese ports.

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Hapag-Lloyd's container ship Potomac Express skipped its scheduled call at Ningbo in eastern China and instead proceeded to Busan, South Korea. Cargo destined for or transiting through Ningbo would be discharged in Busan and then delivered to its final destination via Maersk's network, Maersk said on Tuesday.

Maersk will make similar arrangements for its vessel Maersk Kinloss, which will also no longer call at Ningbo and head directly to South Korea, where any Ningbo-bound cargo will be unloaded and transported onwards via the company's established network.

The company added that it would "be making changes" to its TP7 rotation - a transpacific shipping service operating between ports in Asia and North America, on which the two container ships sail - to ensure that customers' supply chains continue running "as smoothly as possible".

Export shipments originally scheduled to be carried from or via Ningbo to the United States on the two vessels would be transferred to other ships for transshipment in South Korea, Maersk said.

Potomac Express and Maersk Kinloss were likely diverted because they were both built in South Korea - rather than China - meaning they could not be exempted from China's port fee.

However, companies were not able to divert all their vessels quickly enough to avoid the new duty, which Beijing announced on Friday and took effect on Tuesday.

The US-flagged container ship Manukai, operated by US company Matson, appears to have become the first victim of the port fee battle, Chinese media outlet Caixin reported on Tuesday.

It arrived in Ningbo on Monday and called in Shanghai on Wednesday, a day after the fee came into force, according to vessel tracking data. That meant the vessel had to pay a 4.46 million yuan charge, the report said.

China's port fee has similarities to its US counterpart, with vessels charged based on their tonnage. As with the US policy, the rate is also set to get progressively steeper over the next three years.

In addition to diverting vessels, some companies are also reshaping their boards in an apparent attempt to avoid being caught in the port-fee crossfire.

Though not every company has stated this explicitly, the moves appear to be designed to ensure their vessels are not classified as US- or Chinese-owned or operated, allowing them to avoid the new charges.

Hong Kong-listed dry bulk carrier Pacific Basin announced on Monday that Alexander Howarth Yat Kay Cheung would be stepping down from his role as non-executive director.

"His resignation will help the company to change the composition of the board in such a way that mitigates the potential applicability of the United States Trade Representative Section 301 Annex 1 provisions, which impose port fees on Chinese-owned or operated vessels," the company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Also on Monday, US- and Oslo-listed shipowner Okeanis Eco Tankers announced the resignation of two directors, Robert Knapp and Joshua Nemser, who had served on the company's board since it was founded over seven years ago.

The statement did not reveal Knapp and Nemser's nationalities, nor the reason for their departure, but said their resignation had not resulted from any disagreement with the company or its management.

Shipping media outlet TradeWinds reported the resignations were intended to help the company avoid Chinese port fees, which apply not only to US-flagged or built vessels, but also to ships owned or managed by entities with 25 per cent or more American ownership.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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