Hong Kong-listed Pacific Basin Shipping is moving half of its bulker fleet to Singapore and reflagging vessels under its Singapore entity to reduce exposure to new US port fees introduced under the USTR Section 301 scheme.
The move comes after a review of the April 2025 Annex I provisions, which impose additional fees on Chinese-owned or operated ships calling at US ports.
“Only vessels owned or chartered via the Singapore structure will operate on US voyages while Section 301 remains in force,” the company said in its latest trading update, adding that the parent company, Pacific Basin Shipping Limited, registered in Bermuda, remains unchanged.
Strategic leadership and technical management for the Singapore-owned fleet will be based in Singapore. Meanwhile, day-to-day commercial and operational management continues across the company’s 11 global chartering and operations offices, including Singapore. The board composition has also been adjusted to further mitigate Section 301 exposure.
Pacific Basin said that as a publicly-listed company with 99% free-floating shares, it cannot verify the ultimate beneficial ownership of most shareholders, a factor affecting Annex I applicability. The company’s core fleet includes 120 handysize and supramax vessels, with a total of nearly 260 bulkers currently on the water, including short-term chartered ships.
Pacific Basin’s move follows similar action by another high-profile shipowner, Seaspan, the world’s largest containership lessor, which shifted its global headquarters and around 100 vessels to Singapore earlier this year in response to the same US regulations.
Singapore has been gaining ground as a maritime hub, overtaking Hong Kong to rank fourth globally by registered tonnage under the Singapore Registry of Ships. The city-state has also posted record highs in vessel arrivals, container throughput, and bunker sales in recent years.
