- China has penalised major container lines for alleged freight-rate filing violations.
- The action follows inspections at key Chinese ports, with firms accused of either failing to file rates properly or charging prices that differed from those submitted to regulators.
- The crackdown is part of a wider campaign launched in 2024 as Beijing tightens oversight of shipping practices amid ongoing global trade and tariff uncertainty.
China’s Ministry of Transport (MoT) and provincial authorities are stepping up their crackdown on container lines engaging in freight rate filing violations, in the fourth cycle of an enforcement programme running since January 2024.
Chinese regulations require container shipping companies and subsidiaries to submit freight pricing details to authorities before charging customers. This is so authorities can check whether market charges match prices imposed on customers by operators.
According to the MoT, the mentioned companies either failed to complete freight-rate filing procedures or had “discrepancies between actual freight rates and the filed prices”.
The container lines in the report include MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Emirates Shipping Line, Evergreen Marine, Ocean Network Express, Wan Hai Lines, SM Line, Sinokor Merchant Marine, and TS Lines.
Some non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs), including local branches or China-based subsidiaries of freight forwarding companies, have also been penalised.
While specific fine amounts have not been made public, improper freight rate filing can result in fines up to RMB 100,000 (roughly £11,000).
The MoT’s findings come after inspections conducted in the ports of Guangzhou in August 2025, Qingdao in September 2025, and Ningbo-Zhoushan in November 2025. These ports are the sixth, fifth, and third-busiest container ports in the world, respectively; Ningbo alone processed 39.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2024.
According to China’s Maritime Transportation Regulations, filed freight rates should include tariff rates and negotiated rates – that is, legislatively enforced versus agreed-upon rates – with tariff rates to come into effect 30 days after the initial filing. The uncertainty around tariffs on shipments between the US and China could be a factor in the spike in incidences of freight rate filing violations.
This escalation marks the latest effort from the MoT to crack down on freight legalities. In March, the MoT reportedly summoned MSC and A.P. Moeller-Maersk to talks, believed to be regarding the Panama Canal. Later, Hong Kong-headquartered CK Hutchinson invoked an arbitration against Maersk after it was forcibly removed from the Panama Canal.
