Global trade is already under stress due to Donald Trump's trade policies. Another storm is expected in global trade in October, when the US begins imposing docking fees on Chinese-built vessels.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00The world shipping companies are facing a two-front squeeze.
00:06Tariffs grab the headlines, but another heavy cost is on the horizon, docking fees.
00:12Let's start with tariffs. They don't just hit manufacturers, they threaten to slow global trade itself,
00:18with shipping lines caught in the crossfire.
00:21Ocean shipping carries about 80% of global trade, meaning the shock waves from tariffs will definitely reach the ports.
00:30In Germany, there are 287 shipping companies. Only 2% of them have fleets with more than 50 vessels.
00:3880% of the companies operate fleets of fewer than 10 ships, so even a small dip in cargo can hurt.
00:46Trans-Pacific volumes are already down, and ships are suddenly in less demand.
00:51The German Ship Owners Association says small and mid-sized carriers are feeling the squeeze from US-China trade.
00:58Of course, we see a decline also in the chartering out activity, because there is less demand for container ships now,
01:06because the volumes of trade have declined between, especially China and the United States.
01:11But tariffs are just one side of the squeeze. The second front, docking fees, opens in October.
01:17The US will charge a fee every time a Chinese-built ship docks. $50 per netton if it's owned by a Chinese company, $18 if it's owned by a non-Chinese company.
01:29The fee will increase each year for the next three years. It's a first-of-its-kind measure meant to counter China's shipbuilding dominance and protect American shipyards.
01:39This dominance is real. Data from the UN shows that China delivered over 50% of all new ship capacity in 2023, more than the rest of the world combined.
01:52This means a huge portion of the global fleet could be affected by the US fee.
01:58Well, it's an absolute first that we see a country introducing docking fees on Chinese-built ships, and we expect a heavy impact on the shipping market.
02:09The first activity you will see is that ships built in China will go out of trade from the United States.
02:15In other words, carriers will reroute vessels to avoid US ports. There are plenty of other trade lanes for those ships, but the disruption will be significant.
02:27European ports like Hamburg haven't yet seen a surge to fill the gap, but global patterns are changing.
02:34Other countries might become new transshipment hubs, while China could pivot its fleet to serve other markets.
02:41Shipping companies everywhere are watching closely.
02:44Well, it will be an interesting time the next few months for the German shipping industry, because we are sailing in total unpredictability.
02:52We don't know what the United States is going to come forward with over the next few months when it comes to trade policy, tariff policies.
03:00We hope for the best, but we have no idea what the outcome will be.
03:03After weekend talks in Geneva, the US and China agreed to a 90-day tariff truce, bringing things back to the 10% baseline.
03:11So for now, the industry enjoys slightly calmer waters, yet ship owners are still bracing for the next storm.
03:20L