- After China put retaliatory tariffs on US ships – cruise lines have been forced to cancel port calls.
- Oceania Riviera cancelled a port call after being asked to pay $2.5 million in extra port tariffs.
- Spectrum of the Seas will be exempt from the new fees, as it is a homeporting ship.
As China and the USA engage in a well publicised trade war, we’re now seeing the effects bubble over into cruise.
After the USA announced renewed tariffs against China and other measures, including new port fees on ships linked to China, China has now retaliated. China started a new policy of extra port fees from US owned, operated or flagged vessels, with the only exemption being for Chinese-built ships or ships that homeport in China.
The new fees from China are steep, charging USD$56 per net tonne, and with this rate set to increase to USD$157 per net tonne by 2028.
This has lead to cruise ships canceling port calls after being faced with the massive last-minute fees. Oceania Riviera was reportedly asked to pay USD$1.6 million (around AUD$2.5 million) in extra port fees for a scheduled October 16 port call.
The ship diverted to Busan instead and both Oceania and Regent Seven Seas released a statement: “Due to recently enacted retaliatory regulations [passed] by China, ships can no longer effectively visit mainland Chinese ports.
“We are therefore revising select itineraries to replace port calls in mainland China.
“We share in the disappointment of these necessary changes and are committed to providing our guests with itineraries that deliver exceptional destination experiences.”
At the moment not many major lines sail to China with frequency. Royal Caribbean has Spectrum of the Seas homeported in Shanghai, and as a homeported ship it is exempt from the extra fees. Holland America and MSC have calls in China over the coming summer, so it remains to be seen whether they’ll proceed with their port calls or not. Given that they sail with much larger ships than Oceania Riviera and would be facing even steeper port charges, it appears unlikely.
How else could the trade war affect cruise?
Relations between the USA and China have been highly unpredictable under the Trump administration, with tariffs seemingly changing by the day.
This makes it hard to assess any other potential impacts on the cruise industry, but a falling US dollar or increased economic instability in the USA could definitely open the doors for more cruise lines and ships to look towards Australia.
At the moment, cruise companies are posting record profits and forward bookings, so there’s little cause for concern for the industry in the USA, but it will definitely be something to keep an eye on moving forward, as the USA’s economic landscape and their relations with countries such as China, Mexico and Canada will certainly have consequences for the cruise industry.
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