Chinese shipping firms are reshaping fleet deployments and leaning on global alliances to reduce exposure to US ports, as Washington prepares to impose steep new fees on Chinese-linked vessels in October, reported Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.
The levies, aimed at curbing China's dominance in global shipbuilding, are prompting carriers such as Cosco Shipping Holdings and Orient Overseas International Ltd (OOIL) to expand into regional markets and reroute services. Cosco reported growth in intra-Asia, Africa and Latin America routes in the first half of 2025, with transpacific volumes also rising 4.7 per cent.
OOIL acknowledged the impact of the new charges in its interim report, but said shifting trade patterns may offer opportunities to refine strategies in segmented markets. Analysts noted that Chinese carriers are working with alliance partners to reduce US exposure, particularly through the OCEAN Alliance, which includes CMA CGM and Evergreen Line.
Wu Jialu of Citic Futures said the alliance is expected to deploy more non-Chinese vessels on US routes to cut operating costs. Other alliances are also adjusting, with the Premier Alliance splitting a key service to remove Chinese-built ships from US West Coast calls.
Xu Yi of Haitong Futures warned that reduced deployment of Chinese-built vessels could lead to capacity shortages during peak seasons. He added that the fees may accelerate efforts to diversify shipping finance away from China.
Cosco Shipping Holdings, which also operates a global port network of 39 ports and 379 berths, posted revenues of CNY109.1 billion (US$15.3 billion) in the first half of 2025, up 7.8 per cent year on year. Profits rose nearly four per cent to RMB17.5 billion. The company is reportedly in talks to acquire assets from CK Hutchison.