The past few years have been a roller coaster for ports around the world, following dockworker strikes, pandemic-level congestion, global unrest and natural disasters. Compounding this volatility is President Trump’s keen focus on protectionist tariffs and blocking global shipping decarbonization fees. These policy shifts are further disrupting established trade routes; raising compliance costs; and may lead to consolidation, placing severe pressure on both ports and domestic shipbuilders.
Despite compelling reasons to invest in alternative sources of energy, the current administration is doubling down on efforts to cancel green projects. These include a 118,000-acre solar facility in Nevada, which “would have been one of the world’s largest photovoltaic power plants,” according to Bloomberg News; and a $5 billion Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island that was “set to provide enough power for 350,000 homes.” It was 80% complete before the stop-work order forced a pause that's costing “millions of dollars a week” and rampant job uncertainty, per The Wall Street Journal.
These projects have dried up as “orders for new offshore wind service vessels — designed to carry workers and turbines offshore or to lay undersea cable — have also disappeared,” notes Reuters. The impacts equal $679 million, including the cancelation of Department of Transportation financing in support of offshore wind, with a $34 million grant for a facility in Salem, Massachusetts, “expected to generate $75 million in tax revenue over 20 years and create 800 jobs.”
The falling demand for shipping caused Maersk to cancel a $475 million contract for turbine installation at the Empire Wind project off the New York coast. As a result, shipbuilder Seatrium threatened legal action, as it was left with a nearly built vessel but no guaranteed work.
Port fees on Chinese-made vessels, scheduled to go into effect next week, could intensify the pain. “The fees are a bid by the Trump administration to counter China’s dominant position in freight ship manufacturing and spur a moribund U.S. shipbuilding industry,” reports CNBC. “U.S. port fees for most Chinese-linked vessels are broken down into two tranches: one for vessels owned or operated by a Chinese entity, and one for Chinese-built vessels.” Operators will be charged $18-50 per net ton of the vessel’s capacity, depending on the tranche.
China is a growing manufacturing hub for freight vessels, but even non-Chinese-built vessels may be subject to the increased fees, as Western ship owners and freight carriers often use Chinese-backed financial firms “as an alternative to traditional bank loans and to diversify their debt and equity,” CNBC adds. Chinese involvement in the shipping industry totals about $100 billion in assets, or 15% of the global ship finance market.
Gateway to resilience
This period of extreme pressure and uncertainty demands a new standard of supply chain excellence, stability and innovative leadership. It is against this backdrop that the 2026 ASCM Awards of Excellence take on special significance. Fittingly, the prestigious ceremony will take place in Long Beach, California — the home of one of the nation's most high-stakes seaports.
The awards recognize forward-thinking supply chain leaders and organizations committed to peak levels of achievement through the application of the SCOR Digital Standard. Categories celebrate excellence in performance, sustainability, future-ready skills enablement and more. Submissions are free and open, so enter or nominate someone today. And be sure to mark the date for CHAINge: North America 2026, September 29-30. Together, we'll honor a new era of supply chain advancement in Long Beach!
