The fallout from the port fee battle between the US and China continues to ripple through the global shipping sector, as companies scramble to adapt, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. However, despite the drama, industry participants still expect China to maintain its supremacy as a leading shipbuilder – especially if the sector goes ahead with its green transformation plans.
Read also: US cracks down on Chinese shipbuilding dominance with escalating maritime tariff plan
The United States imposed hefty new tariffs on China-linked ships entering US ports earlier this month as part of a broader campaign to reduce China’s dominance in global shipbuilding, prompting Beijing to target US-owned or -operated ships with similar charges in an apparent tit-for-tat move.
But Seaspan – one of the world’s largest owners and operators of container ships – has issued a vote of confidence in China’s shipbuilding industry. Of the more than 170 ships ordered by the company in the past four years, 158 were manufactured by Chinese shipyards at a total cost of 20.8 billion US dollars.
“Regardless of geopolitical factors, Chinese shipyards have a clear competitive advantage in terms of capacity, price, quality and delivery reliability,” Chen Bin, Seaspan’s president and CEO, said at an industry forum in Shanghai over the weekend. During the first three quarters of 2025, China remained by far the world’s largest shipbuilder, accounting for 53.8 percent of global production, 67.3 percent of new orders, and 65.2 percent of total outstanding orders in terms of deadweight tonnage, according to data released last week by the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Chen said China could gain more advantages as the maritime sector pushes forward with efforts to reduce carbon emissions and transition to greener fuels.
Source: Market intelligence platform IndexBox
