Shipping is reeling from what could be the most seismic decision to effect the industry yet in the opening weeks of Donald Trump’s second term in office. The American president will make a decision, likely in around a month’s time, on whether to carry out suggestions made by the office of the US Trade Representative following an investigation carried out over the past year into China’s growing dominance in maritime, especially in the realm of shipbuilding. The USTR report cites artificially suppressed labour costs, forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft among a raft of accusations levelled at Beijing. The trade office has recommended potential fees of up to $1.5m per port call for Chinese-built vessels, $1m per port call for operators of Chinese-built ships, and mandatory US-flag shipping requirements with March 24 set as the deadline for public comments to be made after which the president will make his decision. Donald Trump’s first weeks back in the White House dominated shipping headlines for tariffs, a push for peace in Ukraine, a renewed ‘maximum pressure’ strategy on Iran, and the creation of a National Energy Dominance Council. With Europe increasingly aware it is being left to its own devices, Brussels and the UK have come out with plenty of measures to combat Baltic subsea attacks and Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A 16th package of EU sanctions sees more than 70 ships blacklisted, while the bloc contemplates seizing ageing substandard shadow tanker tonnage transiting through the Baltic, and the Danish Maritime Authority is now carrying out port state controls on tankers it deems high risk who anchor off Skagen in the far north of the country, a popular anchorage. Sovcomflot French Armed Forces While no merchant ships have been attacked in the region this year, there’s little sign authorities believe the Red Sea shipping crisis is coming to an end anytime soon. The European Union has announced it is extending the mandate of its maritime security operation, EUNAVFOR Aspides, for an additional year. Transits through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal have seen a very slight uptick in traffic in recent days, but most shipowners who have eschewed the region in favour of longer trips around the African continent are sticking with that policy as tension remains high in the Middle East with the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas still facing many hurdles. Oaktree Capital Management is cashing out of shipmanagement giant OSM Thome, with investors linked to JP Morgan Asset Management’s Global Transportation Group coming onboard in its place. OSM Thome’s founding shareholders, OSM Maritime Partners and Skagerak Holding, will continue as shareholders, resulting in what the shipmanager described as a “long-term ownership constellation that ensures both continuity and growth”. The Indian government laid out plans to develop a brand new containerline. To be called Bharat Container Line, the new entity will have around 100 ships in its fleet, including ships on charter. Details as to when the liner will launch have yet to be revealed with officials saying it will be a public/private joint venture. The dire start to the year for LNG carriers hit new low benchmarks with some ship types trading in negative territory this month in the Atlantic basin. As February came to a close there were signs that the market had bottomed out. Italian offshore engineering and construction giant Saipem and offshore engineering a