- Sea-Intelligence Tracks Vessel Deployment Shifts.
- Early Signs of Chinese-Built Vessel Reduction on Transpacific.
- No Significant Change Yet on Transatlantic.
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is set to implement new fees starting October 14, 2025, for Chinese-built vessels docking at U.S. ports. However, there will be exceptions for voyages shorter than 2,000 nautical miles and for vessels that are smaller than 4,000 TEU. Notably, COSCO and OOCL, as Chinese carriers, will still incur these fees, no matter where their ships are constructed, reports Sea Intelligence.
Tracking Deployment Trends
To get a handle on potential changes in deployment, Sea-Intelligence has been analysing weekly vessel data throughout 2025 for both the Transpacific and Transatlantic trades. Each vessel has been traced back to its shipyard of origin, and the proportion of Chinese-built vessels has been calculated using a rolling three-week average. This approach helps to smooth out fluctuations and reveals the underlying trends as we approach the new regulations.
Early Shift on the Transpacific
The analysis suggests that shipping lines are beginning to lessen their dependence on Chinese-built vessels in the Trans-Pacific route. For the Asia–North America West Coast trade, the percentage of Chinese-built vessels has dropped from 25–30% in early 2025 to about 20–25% in recent weeks. A similar, albeit less pronounced, trend is also noticeable in the Asia–North America East Coast trade.
No Clear Impact on the Transatlantic
On the flip side, there haven’t been any significant changes observed in the Transatlantic trade just yet. Data from routes connecting North Europe and the Mediterranean to North America shows no major decline in the use of Chinese-built vessels. While some individual redeployments are happening, they haven’t been enough to create a noticeable statistical impact on this trade.
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Source: Sea Intelligence
