News / Taiwan and South Korea lines don't fear US levy on Chinese ships

Photo: VesselFinder

Taiwanese and South Korean liner operators are likely to be those least impacted by the US Trade Representative Office’s proposed levies on operators of Chinese-built ships, according to Linerlytica’s report this week.

The levies could see operators of ships built in China hit by fees of up to $1.5m per US port call, with those with vessels on order from Chinese shipyards facing an extra charge of up to $1m per call. The extra levies depend on the ratio of the operator’s fleet on order in China.

Operators with at least 50% of their newbuildings coming from China face the maximum additional charge of $1m.

Linerlytica explained: “The proposed trade action would hit [China state line] Cosco especially hard, while Taiwanese and Korean carriers would benefit from the move, as only a small proportion of their fleet are Chinese built, allowing for actions to circumvent the levies.”

All the newbuilds ordered by Cosco and its subsidiary OOCL will be built in China, as were nearly 60% of their current fleet.

The proportions of Chinese-built ships in the fleets of Taiwanese carriers Evergreen (12%), Yang Ming (10%), Wan Hai (7.6%), and TS Lines at a massive 74%.

For box ships on order: Yang Ming has five, all being built in South Korea; 23% of Evergreen’s newbuildings will come from China; and just 4% of Wan Hai’s 31 ships under construction, amounting to 331,174 teu, are being built in China; as are all of TS Lines’ seven on order.

South Korean ocean-going carriers HMM and SM Line have approximately 2% and 8% of their respective fleets originating in China, while none of HMM’s nine newbuildings is coming  from there. SM Line has no ships on order.

Cosco, subsidiary OOCL, and Chinese feeder operator Hede Shipping are the only Chinese container carriers active on the transpacific. Hede has no newbuildings on order, but 60% of its fleet was built in China.

Linerlytica said that with these three accounting for 17% of US container imports from the Far East, their potential departure from the transpacific would create a void in the market.

Interestingly, the protectionist moves, aimed at restoring US shipbuilding, could hit its own container carriers just as badly as the Chinese operators.

A significant proportion of the fleets of Matson (31%), Seaboard Marine (71%), Dole (55%), King Ocean Services (77%), Tropical Shipping (82%) and Del Monte (100%) is Chinese built.

Great White Fleet, the shipping unit of US banana distributor Chiquita, is the only US container line without China-built tonnage.