On September 16, COSCO SHIPPING Lines issued a notice to customers regarding the USTR Section 301 investigation on its official website.
COSCO Shipping Lines announced that, according to a notice issued by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on April 17, 2025, the U.S. will impose a port service fee on maritime services provided by Chinese shipowners and operators, as well as operators utilizing vessels constructed in China, effective October 14, 2025.
Although this fee may pose certain challenges to the company’s operations, COSCO Shipping Lines remains fully confident in its U.S. route network services. We are committed to maintaining stable shipping capacity and consistent service quality, continuously providing customers with reliable, secure, and high-quality logistics solutions.
Meanwhile, COSCO SHIPPING Lines will actively improve its product structure to adapt to the ever-changing demands of the U.S. market and maintain competitive freight rates, surcharges and other related policies that match market levels.
COSCO SHIPPING Lines has long been deeply engaged in the U.S. market, strictly complying with all U.S. laws, regulations, and policies, and remains a trusted partner in promoting U.S. import and export trade. The company will maintain resilience and determination, remain committed to excellent service, and uphold the principle of delivering value, to steadily operate its U.S. liner shipping business.
According to its official website, COSCO SHIPPING Lines is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO SHIPPING), a company listed on both the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges and a member of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings.
COSCO Shipping Lines officially commenced operations on March 1, 2016, with a registered capital of 23,664,337,200 RMB. The company mainly engages in international and domestic maritime container transportation services and related businesses, and is a core business segment of COSCO Shipping Group.
COSCO SHIPPING Lines is headquartered in Shanghai’s Hongkou District and has 28 departments. It has nine branch offices in mainland China, including Dalian, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, South China, Hainan, and Wuhan. It also has nine overseas branches in Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, West Asia, South America, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Africa. As of July 31, 2025, COSCO SHIPPING Lines has 271 domestic and overseas legal entities and employs 17,100 people worldwide, including 5,372 overseas.
As of July 31, 2025, COSCO SHIPPING Lines operates 428 container ships with a capacity of 2.37 million TEUs (COSCO SHIPPING Lines and OOCL, the “dual-brand” fleet, operates 560 container ships with a capacity of 3.43 million TEUs, and the total fleet size ranks first in the industry).
The company operates 407 routes, including 267 international routes (including international feeder routes), 61 China coastal routes, and 79 Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River feeder routes. The company’s self-operated fleet calls at 649 ports in approximately 146 countries and regions worldwide.