Shipping companies with a widespread form of Chinese financing are rushing to find different funding sources to avoid potential multimillion-dollar fees for US port visits when new Trump administration rules come into force in October, reports the Financial Times. Operators are seeking alternatives to the “sale and leaseback” deals that make up a high proportion of the $100 billion in outstanding financing from Chinese institutions for shipping companies worldwide.
Shipping companies are concerned the arrangements could mean that ships with no other Chinese connection will count as Chinese-owned under new US rules due to be introduced on October 14.
Under draft rules, the fee for most Chinese-owned ships would be $50 per net ton, rising to $140 per net ton over two years from April. The fees mean that even a modest container ship of about 20,000 net tons is likely to pay about $1 million per port visit, rising to about $2.8 million. For a Very Large Crude Carrier of about 100,000 net tons, the initial cost per visit would be $5 million, rising to about $14 million.