Cruise lines are rethinking their
itineraries in Asia after China
extended its new “special port fees” to visiting cruise ships — a move that
could cost operators millions per voyage. The fees, which kicked in on October
14, are the nation’s response to similar levies the U.S. Trade Representative’s
Office recently announced on Chinese vessels.
The American
program mainly affects cargo ships owned, operated or built in China. In turn,
China’s policy targets any vessel with U.S. ties — meaning those that are
owned, operated, flagged or constructed in the United States are now subject to
steep new fees when they dock at Chinese ports.
The impact became
clear almost immediately. On October 16, Oceania
Cruises’ ship Riviera — a 66,000-ton vessel operated by Miami-based Norwegian
Cruise Line Holdings — was supposed to stop in Shanghai during a two-week
cruise that began in Japan.
But according to The
Maritime Executive, the ship faced about $1.6 million in additional port
fees if it did so. Instead, Riviera skipped Shanghai altogether and docked in
Busan, South Korea, instead.
Meanwhile, Royal
Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas — which homeports in Shanghai and sails
mostly short voyages marketed to Chinese nationals — returned to its port of
origin the following day without issue. In that case, the Chinese government
granted the ship a waiver, sparing it from millions in fees that could
otherwise have applied based on its size. However, Chinese outlet Caixin
noted the government’s warning that the waiver will not blanketly apply to
cruise ships. Vessels homeported in China will likely continue to receive
exemptions, but foreign-based cruises that include Chinese stops won’t be as
fortunate.
Cruise ships are significantly larger than many commercial vessels,
meaning the fees add up fast. At the current rate of about $56 per net ton, a
ship the size of Spectrum of the Seas — which weighs in at 169,379 gross tons
and carries 7,150 passengers and crew — would owe more than $9 million per
visit. By 2028, when the fees rise to $157 per ton, that total could soar to
more than $26.5 million per docking.
That kind of
price tag is already prompting cruise lines to reconsider future calls to
China. Caixin reports that Disney
Cruise Line had been planning Shanghai stops, but those visits are unlikely
to proceed. Given that most major cruise lines — including Carnival
Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings —
are U.S.-based, more cancellations are expected to follow.
For now, the only
major foreign cruise ship homeported in Shanghai is Swiss-owned MSC
Cruises’ Bellissima, which sails under the Maltese flag and therefore isn’t
subject to the new fees.
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