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A 10,000-TEU Chinese ship will face a fee of $ 1.08 million per sailing starting in October. Sheila Fitzgerald Shutterstock. com

BIMCO looks to set standard for passing on USTR port fees

By Michael Angell

The standard-setting body for maritime contracts wants to establish how ocean carriers will charge shippers for the pending US port fees on Chinese ships and carriers, a move that will“ significantly raise” shipping costs, the group warned.

BIMCO said in a statement June 5 that it has started development of a standard industry clause that would“ address contractual uncertainties” arising from the United States Trade Representative’ s( USTR) remedies against China’ s maritime industry. Released in April, the fees on Chinese-built ships and operators go into effect Oct. 14.

With the enforcement date rapidly approaching, BIMCO said it is making a standard clause for the USTR fee“ a priority,” with legal and commercial experts assigned to weigh in on what a standard clause would look like.

“ When implemented, the measures will significantly raise the cost of seaborne trade to and from the United States,” BIMCO Chief Executive David Loosley said.“ Additionally, the actions present complex contractual challenges for the shipping industry.”

While the port fee will apply across all maritime trades into the US, container shipping poses more of a challenge due to having multiple port calls, the rotation of vessels into services, the mix of vessels stemming from alliance structures and the differing methodologies for assessing fees.

Container shipping advisory Bluspark Global said in an April report that ocean carriers will look to mitigate the fee by using non-Chinese ships in their US services or restructure alliance networks so Chinese carriers will no longer serve US ports. But those moves will not be entirely cost-free either, it added.

“ Carriers will strategize to minimize how often and where they incur these fees, but they will also ensure they recover the costs from customers,” Bluspark said.“ We may see some shifts in network design, but the fundamental impacts— higher costs that will be passed on— remain.”

As laid out in April, the USTR will charge a fee based on the net tonnage of a Chinese-operated ship upon first arrival at a US port, up to five times per year, with the fee escalating over five years. Chinese-built ships, however, can face either the escalating net tonnage fee or a fee based on the number of containers carried on a voyage, whichever is higher.

“ When implemented, the measures will significantly raise the cost of seaborne trade to and from the United States.”

Bluspark detailed those different fee scenarios. For example, a 10,000-TEU ship would be about 60,000 net tons and have capacity for about 5,000 standard dry containers. Under the net tonnage fee— which starts at $ 18 in 2025— the ship would face a $ 1.08 million fee on its first port call. But the 2025 container rate of $ 120 would yield a port fee of $ 600,000, Bluspark said.

Bluspark said shippers should ask carriers to justify any surcharges relative to the actual fees they incur.

“ Keep a close eye on carrier announcements in late 2025 and beyond,” it said.“ When a carrier implements a [ USTR ] surcharge, scrutinize the level and mechanism.”

email: michael. angell @ spglobal. com

26 Journal of Commerce | July 7, 2025 www. joc. com