Global shipping lines are reducing their use of Chinese-built vessels on Transpacific routes in anticipation of new U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) fees scheduled to take effect on October 14, 2025.
The upcoming regulation will impose tariffs on Chinese-built ships calling at U.S. ports, unless they meet specific exemptions—such as voyages under 2,000 nautical miles or vessels smaller than 4,000 TEU. Chinese carriers like COSCO and OOCL will be subject to the fees regardless of where their ships were constructed.
"On the Transpacific, there are early signs of a reduction in the deployment of Chinese-built vessels," Sea-Intelligence said in a new analysis.
"The share of Chinese-built vessels operating on the Asia–North America West Coast route has declined in recent months, dropping from 25–30% in early 2025 to around 20–25%, with a milder decrease observed on the East Coast trade," it added.
[Source: Sea-Intelligence]
The Danish shipping consultancy company analysed vessel deployment data on the Transpacific and Transatlantic trades to see if shipping lines are reducing their use of Chinese-built vessels, ahead of new fees set to take effect on next month.
To measure any potential changes, Sea-Intelligence tracked the vessels deployed on two trades on a weekly basis throughout 2025 and mapped each vessel to its shipyard of origin. It then calculated the share of Chinese-built vessels over a 3-week rolling average to reduce volatility and identify any underlying trends, closer to the implementation date for the new fees.
On the Transpacific, there are already signs of a reduction. Sea-Intelligence said a similar, "though less pronounced trend" is visible on the Asia-North America East Coast trade.
"In contrast, on the Transatlantic trade, there does not yet seem to be any such development," Sea-Intelligence said.
The data for liner services, from both North Europe and the Mediterranean to North America, does not currently support the notion that a widespread removal of Chinese-built vessels is underway on the Transatlantic.
"While individual vessel redeployments are occurring, they have not yet reached a level that creates a material statistical impact on this trade lane," Murphy said.
