WEBVTT

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The world’s shipping companies
are facing a two-front squeeze.

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Tariffs grabbed the headlines,
but another heavy cost is on the

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horizon, docking fees.

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Let's start with tariffs.

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They don't just hit manufacturers,
they threaten to slow global trade

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itself, with shipping
lines caught in the crossfire.

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Ocean shipping carries about 80% of
global trade, meaning the shock waves

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from tariffs will
definitely reach the ports.

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In Germany, there are
287 shipping companies.

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Only 2% of them have
fleets with more than 50 vessels.

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80% of the companies operate fleets
of fewer than 10 ships, so even a

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small dip in cargo can hurt.

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Trans Pacific volumes are
already down and ships are suddenly

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in less demand.

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The German Ship Owners Association
says small and mid-sized carriers are

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feeling the squeeze
from U.S.-China trade.

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Of course we see a decline also in
the chartering out activity because

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there is less demand for container
ships now because the volumes of

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trade have declined
between especially China and

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the United States.

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But tariffs are just
one side of the squeeze.

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The second front,
docking fees, opens in October.

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the U.S. will charge a fee every time a
Chinese built chip docks $50 per net

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ton if it's owned by a Chinese
company, $18 if it's owned by a

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non Chinese company.

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The fee will increase each
year for the next three years.

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It's the first of its kind
measure meant to counter China's

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shipbuilding dominance and
protect American shipyards.

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This dominance is real.

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Data from the UN shows that China
delivered over 50% of all new ship

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capacity in 2023- more than
the rest of the world combined.

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This means a huge portion of the
global fleet could be affected by the U.S. fee.

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Well, it's an absolute first that
we see a country introducing docking

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fees on Chinese build ships
and we expect a heavy impact on

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the shipping market.

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You will the first activity.

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You will see is that ships built
in China will go out of trade from

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the United States.

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In other words, carriers will
reroute vessels to avoid US ports.

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There are plenty of other trade lanes
for those ships, but the disruption

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will be significant.

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European ports like Hamburg haven't
yet seen a surge to fill the gap, but

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global patterns are changing.

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Other countries might become new
transshipment hubs, while China could

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pivot its fleet to
serve other markets.

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Shipping companies everywhere
are watching closely.

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Well, it will be an interesting time
the next few months for the German

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shipping industry because we are
sailing in total unpredictability.

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We don't know what the United States
is going to come forward with over

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the next few months when it comes
to trade policy, tariff policies.

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We hope for the best, but we have no
idea what the outcome will be.

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After weekend talks in Geneva,

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the U.S. and China agreed to a 90 day
tariff truce bringing things back

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to the 10% baseline. So for now, the
industry enjoys slightly calmer waters, yet

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ship owners are
still bracing for the next storm.