Chinese Response to USTR: Update on China Charging Special Port Charges for U.S. Vessels

US-China maritime trade relations continue to evolve rapidly.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a series of notices (covered in our article, USTR Section 301 Fee and Tariff Measures and Their Impact to Charterparties) imposing service fees on owners and operators of Chinese built, owned or operated vessels for US port calls.

As a countermeasure, China’s Ministry of Transport (“MOT”) issued an "Announcement on Imposing Special Port Charges on U.S. Vessels" (Announcement No. 54 of 2025, the “Announcement”) on 10 October 2025, which takes effect on 14 October 2025.

The full text of the No. 54 Announcement (translated in English) is as follows:

In accordance with the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on International Maritime Transportation" and other relevant laws and regulations, as well as the basic principles of international law, and with the approval of the State Council, starting from 14 October 2025, special port charges shall be imposed on the following vessels: vessels owned by U.S. enterprises, other organizations, or individuals; vessels operated by U.S. enterprises, other organizations, or individuals; vessels owned or operated by enterprises or other organizations in which U.S. enterprises, other organizations, or individuals directly or indirectly hold 25% or more of the equity (voting rights or board seats); vessels flying the U.S. flag; and vessels built in the United States. The maritime authority at the port of call shall be responsible for collecting the special port charges. Relevant matters are announced as follows:

I. The special port charges shall be collected on a per-voyage basis for the above-mentioned vessels, implemented in phases, with the specific rates as follows (fractions of less than 1 net ton shall be counted as 1 net ton).

(a) For vessels calling at Chinese ports starting from 14 October 2025, the charge shall be RMB 400 per net ton;

(b) For vessels calling at Chinese ports starting from 17 April 2026, the charge shall be RMB 640 per net ton;

(c) For vessels calling at Chinese ports starting from 17 April 2027, the charge shall be RMB 880 per net ton;

(d) For vessels calling at Chinese ports starting from 17 April 2028, the charge shall be RMB 1,120 per net ton.

II. For vessels calling at multiple Chinese ports during the same voyage, the special port charge shall be paid only at the first port of call, and no further charges shall be collected at subsequent ports. For the same vessel, the special port charge shall not be collected for more than 5 voyages in a year.

III. The Ministry will formulate detailed implementation rules.
 

The Implementation Measures 

At midnight on 14 October 2025 (Beijing time), the MOT released the Implementation Measures  (《 对美船舶收取船舶特别港务费实施办法》), where it repeats that the targets of the special port fees would be the following vessels [1]:

(1) Vessels owned by an entity, other organization, or a citizen of the U.S.;
(2) Vessels operated by, or controlled by, an entity, other organization, or a citizen of the U.S. [2];
(3) Vessels owned by, controlled by, or operated by an entity with 25 percent or more of this entity’s equity interest, outstanding voting interest, or board seats is held directly or indirectly by an entity, other organization, or a citizen, of the U.S.;
(4) U.S.-flagged vessels;
(5) U.S.-built vessels.

It further adds that vessels falling under any of the categories (1) through (4) above but were built in China are exempt from payment. Empty vessels entering solely for repairs in Chinese shipyards, and other vessels that may be recognised as falling within exemptions  are also exempt from payment.

As for the provision in the Announcement that “for the same vessel, the special port charge shall not be collected for more than 5 voyages in a year”, the Implementation Measures further clarify that April 17 of each year shall be the start date of the annual charging cycle.

The Implementation Measures have also provided some practical guidance on how the special port fees would be collected. Article 6 in the Implementation Measures provides that the vessel interests (“船方” which are discussed further below) or its agent shall, 7 days before the vessel's expected arrival at a Chinese port (or upon departure from the previous port if the voyage is less than 7 days), truthfully report the vessel's information to the maritime authority at the port of call and pay the special port fees. The information includes the country of build, flag state, owner, operator, chartering status, and intended port(s) of call for the voyage.

Failure to pay the special port fees would result in the maritime authority not clearing the vessel for entry/departure and if the vessel has already left the Chinese port, the outstanding fees must be paid before the vessel's next call at a Chinese port.

Core Issues Pending Clarification 

Whilst the Implementation Measures have provided some further details on the collection of special port fees, there are still a number of issues pending further clarifications, a few examples of which are set out below.

1. Definition of " an entity, other organization, or a citizen of the U.S." and “an entity with 25 percent or more of this entity’s equity interest, outstanding voting interest, or board seats being held directly or indirectly by an entity, other organization, or a citizen, of the U.S.”

Read in conjunction, it seems that the Announcement would apply to vessels owned /operated by:

a) individuals with U.S. nationality or entities registered and established in the United States, which is relatively straightforward.
 

b) enterprises or other organizations in which a U.S. enterprise, organization, or individual directly or indirectly holds 25% or more of the equity (voting rights or board seats). This may involve an exercise of identification of the ultimate beneficial owner of a particular entity. If the beneficial owners of a company or organization (not limited to individuals but extended to include enterprises and organizations) are U.S. enterprises, organizations, or individuals, it is likely to be caught by the Announcement. The question is if multiple U.S. organizations, enterprises, or individuals are considered as a group, and this group reaches the threshold of directly or indirectly holding 25% or more of the equity (voting rights or board seats) in an entity, would that entity also be subject to the provisions of the Announcement? The wording of the Chinese version is not clear on this issue but if we look at the English translation stated in the Reporting Form of US-Linked Vessel Information (see above), it only refers to a singular entity, organization or citizen rather than plural. Based on this, we are inclined to think that the scenario as stated in the question above may not be caught by the Announcement.

         2. Definition of “operate” (运营)or ship operator

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all definition of “ship operator” (船舶经营人) available under Chinese law. Whilst this phrase does appear in various pieces of laws, regulations, rules or cases in China, the scope/definition varies depending on the context where this word/ phrase is used.

In the current context where the Chinese government aims to impose countermeasures in response to US’s measures, how the word “operate” would be interpreted is largely policy oriented. It is worth noting that in the template Reporting Form of US-Linked Vessel Information (《船舶涉美信息报告表》, there are separate boxes for Owner (所有人), Bareboat Charterer (光船承租人) and Operator (经营人), which indicates that bareboat charterers and operators could be different entities.  

         3. Identification of responsible parties

Unlike the US (where CSMS #66427144 expressly says the burden for determining if a vessel owes the fee is on the operator, not CBP), the Implementation Measures have provided that it is船方(a literal translation would be vessel interests) or its agent who shall be responsible for declaring to the authority whether the vessel falls within the Announcement. Again, the Implementation Measures have not provided for a definition of “船方” (vessel interests). We note that in the Guidelines for Completion of Reporting Form of US-Linked Vessel Information (《船舶涉美信息报告表》申报指南) released by the Maritime Safety Administration of the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国海事局) on 14 October 2025, it says that the Form shall be stamped with vessel stamp or captain stamp or signed by the captain (personally). As the captain usually represents the ship owners or bareboat charterers, this seems to indicate that it is the ship owners and/or bareboat charterers who would fall within the scope of “vessel interests” (船方) and be responsible for the declaration of information.

Conclusion

While the announcement marks a significant shift in the maritime dimension of US-China trade relations, its practical impact remains uncertain.The current absence of clarity around key definitions and clarifications creates operational and compliance risks for affected stakeholders.

Looking ahead, vessel owners, operators, and charterers with U.S. affiliations—whether direct or indirect—should assess their exposure under the new framework. This includes reviewing ownership structures, chartering arrangements, and voyage planning to anticipate potential liabilities. 

It is also worth noting that the Implementation Measures have expressly provided that the scope, standards, and the start/end times for collecting the special port fees may be adjusted dynamically as the situation develops and the MOT retains full discretion on the interpretation of the Implementation Measures. It is possible that the MOT and/or the maritime authority may issue further guidance or updates depending on the actual implementation of these countermeasures in practice. Potentially affected parties are recommended to obtain advice to navigate this shifting regulatory landscape and to prepare for phased increases in port charges through 2028, including through engaging with local agents and port authorities in China, and where necessary, obtaining advice on evolving interpretations and enforcement issues. This is particularly important in circumstances where it has been announced that a failure to pay the special port fees would result in vessel clearance not being granted for entry / departure.

[1] Kindly note that the MOT has not released an official English translation of the Implementation Measures and we have adopted the English translations of the targeted vessels from the Guidelines for Completion of Reporting Form of US-Linked Vessel Information (《船舶涉美信息报告表》申报指南) released by the Maritime Safety Administration of the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国海事局) on 14 October 2025 where the Form is written in bilingual format.

[2] It is worth noting that the Chinese versions of items (2) and (3) do not contain the word “controlled by”. The original Chinese wording is as follows:

（一）美国的企业、其他组织和个人拥有船舶所有权的船舶；

（二）美国的企业、其他组织和个人运营的船舶；

（三）美国的企业、其他组织和个人直接或间接持有25%及以上股权（表决权、董事会席位）的企业、其他组织拥有或运营的船舶；

（四）悬挂美国旗的船舶；

（五）在美国建造的船舶。