Bloomberg Podcasts
@bloombergpodcasts·503K subscribers·32.4K videos
Ships Wait Longer Near China Ports as Fees on US Ships Begin
Posted
October 21, 2025
Views
41,259
Likes
221
Comments
121
Engagement
October 21, 2025
41,259
221
121
0.83%
Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
See what was published immediately before and after this episode.
4:18Now PlayingAndrew Siciliano, Partner and Trade & Customs Practice Leader at KPMG, breaks down the impact of country and industry specific tariffs imposed by the US.
Waiting times for commodity vessels queued off China’s ports increased to the lengthiest this year, as the geopolitical sparring between Beijing and Washington disrupts global trade..
It took an average of 2.66 days for a vessel to get into a berth after arrival in the week to Oct. 19, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data from ship-tracking platform Kpler. That’s an increase of 17% on-week, and the longest period this year, the calculations show.
China is the world’s largest commodity importer, and vessel snarls — if prolonged — could ripple through the global supply chain, affecting liquid cargoes such as crude, as well as bulks like iron ore. Beijing and Washington have sparred over shipping, with China introducing a hefty extra fee on vessels known to have American links, following a similar US move. The maritime friction forms one part of the nations’ larger trade dispute.
In addition, Washington also imposed sanctions on a major oil-import terminal operator in China’s east, Rizhao. That move was the latest in a long line of moves aimed at frustrating shipments of crude oil from Iran to China.
Some oil hubs have seen wait times lengthen as tanker owners sought to comply with the new directives. Ships at Dongjiakou waited an average of 2.79 days last week, the second-highest period in Kpler figures. Those at Yantai, meanwhile, idled for 2.7 days, up from about 1.8 the prior week.
“Shipowners are thinking they should hold on, and wait until they can enter the port,” said Matt Wright, freight analyst at Kpler. “There is still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding which owners face fees.”
Kpler figures can be subject to revision and updates as more information becomes available.
--------
Watch Bloomberg Radio LIVE on YouTube
Weekdays 7am-6pm ET
Follow us on X
Subscribe to our Podcasts:
Bloomberg Daybreak
Bloomberg Surveillance
Bloomberg Intelligence
Balance of Power
Bloomberg Businessweek
Listen on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app:
Apple CarPlay
Android Auto
Visit our YouTube channels:
Bloomberg Podcasts
Bloomberg Television
Bloomberg Originals
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.
