Shipping Firms Pull Back from Hong Kong to Skirt US-China Risks

HONG KONG/LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) – Some shipping companies are discreetly moving operations out of Hong Kong and taking vessels off its flag registry. Others are making contingency plans to do so.

Behind these low-profile moves, six shipping executives said, lie concerns that their ships could be commandeered by Chinese authorities or hit with U.S. sanctions in a conflict between Beijing and Washington.

Beijing’s emphasis on the role of Hong Kong in serving Chinese security interests and growing U.S. scrutiny of the importance of China’s commercial fleet in a possible military clash, such as over Taiwan, are causing unease across the industry, the people told Reuters.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office last month proposed levying steep U.S. port fees on Chinese shipping companies and others that operate Chinese-built vessels, to counter China’s “targeted dominance” of shipbuilding and maritime logistics.

USTR’s $1.5M Port Fee Proposal on Chinese Ships Sparks Industry Confusion Over Critical Definitions

Washington in September warned American businesses about growing risks of operating in Hong Kong, where the U.S. already applies sanctions against officials involved in a security crackdown.

Hong Kong for more than a century has been a hub for shipowners and the brokers, financiers, underwriters and lawyers supporting them. Its maritime and port industry accounted for 4.2% of GDP in 2022, official data show.

The city’s flag is the eighth most-flown by ships worldwide, according to VesselsValue, a subsidiary of maritime data group Veson Nautical.

Reuters interviews with two dozen people, including shipping executives, insurers and lawyers familiar with Hong Kong, revealed growing concern that commercial maritime operations could be ensnared by forces beyond their control in a U.S.-China military clash.

Many pointed to China’s intensified focus on national security objectives; trade frictions; and the broad powers of Hong Kong’s leader, who is accountable to Beijing, to seize control of shipping in an emergency.

“We don’t want