Port Fee Saga

26 February 2026 E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd 

It is likely that many people in the shipping industry were hoping we had seen the last of additional port tariffs in October, after the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) Section 301 tariffs targeting Chinese owned, operated or built ships were put on hold for a year, with China also lifting its own retaliatory measures. However, after causing havoc in 2025, the port fee saga has its latest instalment. On Friday the 13th of February, the Trump administration published their most recent plan to restore America’s maritime dominance.

The plan contains incentives for fleet expansion of US built, US flagged vessels, by subsidising the modernisation of shipyards, including new drydocks, aimed at increasing throughput and decreasing construction timelines. Further, whilst these measures are carried out, the proposal contains a provision to bring foreign-built vessels under the US flag to carry international trade in the interim. The funding required is intended to come from the Maritime Security Trust Fund, which in-turn will derive its income from the latest plan for US port fees. Details remain thin, but the plan proposes a fee on all foreign-built commercial vessels entering U.S. ports, with costs based on the weight of imported cargoes, set at between $0.01-$0.25 per kg.

Source: Gibsons

Only about 1% of tankers above 25,000 DWT are US built, which means this plan would cover virtually all tankers. At the lower end of the range, at $0.01 per kg, the fees would imply a cost of around $2.7m per voyage for a fully laden VLCC discharging into the US, or around $450,000 on a fully laden MR. At the upper end of the range, at $0.25 per kg, the fees would reach a cost of around $68m per voyage for a fully laden VLCC discharging into the US, or around $11m on a fully laden MR. These costs are even steeper than those in the previous plan, and even at the lower end of the range would be prohibitively expensive.

Vessels arriving in ballast would be exempt, yet contrary to previous iterations of US port fees, no details for any further exemptions are currently included in the plans. Notably, the latest proposal applies to all foreign-built vessels and is not China focused, levelling the playing field. Considering the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) Section 301 tariffs were postponed shortly after being implemented, when China rapidly implemented significant retaliatory fees, these latest port fees seem unlikely to be enacted in their current version. It is also unclear whether the latest plans will replace the earlier regime. The proposal appears to be in its infancy, with few details and no implementation framework in place. Further, congressional approval is likely required for this plan to be enacted, which presents a considerable hurdle.

One thing is clear, the latest details of Trump’s Maritime Action Plan signal continued intent from the Trump administration to revive the American shipping industry. Whether the plans improve the competitiveness of US shipyards remain to be seen. Currently, the costs of constructing virtually any type of commercial vessel remain significantly higher than at competing Korean, Japanese, or Chinese shipyards, and capacity significantly lower.

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