When Trade Shifts, Data Steers: Lessons from Quebec City (AAPA Convention)

This week’s episode connects the dots between ports, policy, and technology — from new AI cargo safety tools to China’s retaliatory port fees and the U.S.–Finland icebreaker deal. Fresh off the AAPA Annual Convention in Quebec City, Lauren breaks down how smart strategy means more than new tech — it’s about translation, visibility, and human insight.

Expanded Description:

In this week’s episode of By Land and By Sea, The Maritime Professor®, Lauren Beagen, unpacks a fast-moving week in global shipping and supply chain strategy.

From AI scanning for dangerous goods to digital standards and tariff-driven behavior shifts, Lauren explores how data, design, and diplomacy are reshaping maritime operations — and why “smart strategy” means understanding the human element behind it all.

⚓ AI cargo safety: The National Cargo Bureau and World Shipping Council launched a partnership using artificial intelligence to detect misdeclared or dangerous goods before loading — a major leap in predictive safety.

 💸 Tariff enforcement: The DOJ sentenced executives in the L.A. fashion district for evading $19M in customs duties — a reminder that data integrity equals compliance integrity.

 🧩 DCSA digital standards: The Digital Container Shipping Association launched its new standard conformance page— and now you can check carrier adoption directly on their conformance grid, covering Track & Trace, eBLs, and booking data (https://dcsa.org/standard-conformance)

 🇨🇳 China’s retaliatory port fees: A mirror response to U.S. Section 301 tariffs, China imposed special port fees on U.S.-linked ships, starting at 400 yuan per net ton and rising to 1,120 yuan by 2028.

 🚢 Industry workarounds: Bloomberg via gCaptain reports carriers are reflagging and rerouting to minimize tariff exposure — a clear sign that the policy is influencing fleet behavior, just as intended.

 ❄️ U.S.–Finland icebreaker deal: The U.S. approved a major collaboration with Finland to build 11 new icebreakers, bolstering Arctic access, Great Lakes operations, and allied shipbuilding capacity.

From Quebec City to Washington, the message is clear:
The maritime world isn’t just collecting data — it’s learning to translate it into action.

🎧 Episode: When Trade Shifts, Data Steers: Lessons from Quebec City (AAPA Convention)
👉 Listen now at www.TheMaritimeProfessor.com/podcast

💡 Takeaway: The future of maritime strategy isn’t about more data — it’s about better translation, visibility, and connection.

 ⚠️ As always, this content is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. If you need an attorney, contact an attorney.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Opening & Show Setup
• 0:47 AAPA Panel: Tech and Strategy
• 2:28 Safety Through Shared Data & AI
• 4:36 Standards That Let Systems Talk
• 6:02 Data As Infrastructure
• 7:16 Predictive, Not Reactive Shipping
• 7:54 LA Fashion District Tariff Case
• 10:20 Why Compliance Visibility Matters
• 11:34 DCSA Conformance Program Launch
• 14:08 Asking Smarter Tech Questions
• 16:21 China’s Retaliatory Port Fees
• 19:05 Carriers Reroute to Minimize Fees

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Ready to go. You're listening to By Land and By Sea, powered by the Maritime Professor. Global trade doesn't stop. It swerves. Tariff shifts, ships reroute, and technology keeps rewriting the rules in a good way, though, I think. This week I was in Quebec City for the American Association of Port Authorities annual conference. This is where port leaders, regulators, and innovators come together to tackle one big question. How can ports pick plan strategically when the world refuses to sit still? We're going to break it all down. This week is the Captain's Log edition. There's a couple other stories you're not going to want to miss. Hi, welcome back to By Land and By Sea, an attorney breaking down the weekend supply chain, presented by me, the Maritime Professor. I'm Lauren Beegan, former FMC International Affairs Attorney and founder of the Maritime Professor and Squall Strategies. The guidance here is general and for educational purposes only. As always, if you need an attorney, contact an attorney. Now, this is plain language maritime created so anybody, not just lawyers or insiders, can understand what's happening in shipping. So let's dive in because as you know, ocean shipping moves the world. All right. Well, this week, like I said, I was at the American Association of Port Authorities annual conference in Quebec City. And I was honored to be asked to join a panel of incredibly talented, intelligent colleagues in the industry. So it was our panel called Smart Strategies, Harnessing Technology to Navigate Global Trade Shifts. And it explored how data and technology are transforming port planning, enabling leaders to forecast cargo trends, and optimize vessel scheduling and diversify commodity portfolios. Our panel was led by former U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral, retired John Mauger, Aaron Chosova of the National Cargo Bureau, and Captain Adila Sheikh of Polestar Global. Now, Rear Admiral Malger led the discussion and really rooted us in the principle of how shared data can strengthen maritime safety and preparedness across agencies and across the supply chain. Aaron Chosova also emphasized the standardized cargo declarations and digital documentation documentations are key to risk reductions. And she explained that the National Cargo Bureau had a new partnership with the World Shipping Council, which uses AI, artificial intelligence, to identify misdeclared or dangerous cargo before it's even loaded onto the vessel. We had mentioned that a few weeks ago on the show. It was fantastic to hear her talk about it. I do want to point out misdeclared cargo has caused catastrophic shipboard fires and major supply chain disruptions. This new AI technology, this new AI screening approach, really adds a safety net at this documentation level, protecting crews, cargoes, and infrastructure. It's a fantastic thing that National Cargo Bureau and World Shipping Council has rolled out. Now, Captain Adil expanded on how real-time vessel tracking and data fusion are transforming operational awareness with Bullstar Global, giving ports and regulators a complete faster picture of what's actually happening across the maritime domain. From birth scheduling to compliance and security, he tackled it all. He talked about it and all of the great things that they're working on. Now, during the panel, I also shared a point that I think really resonated as we all rush toward new technology. And this isn't anything new that I've never told you guys before. This is something we come back to a lot. As we're all rushing toward new technology, it's critical that we assess that shiny new product that you want to take off the shelf. You need to make sure that it actually speaks the language of the industry. Now, what does that mean? Standards. This is where standards come in, making sure all these digital systems can actually talk to each other. Now, I've highlighted the work before, and I certainly did on this panel, the work of Carl Bensel, former FMC commissioner. We had him on just a few weeks, actually just last week. And we I've often talked about the work that he did at the FMC, the Maritime Transportation Data Initiative, MTDI. Now, in this panel, I also emphasize that he identified the DCSA, Digital Container Shipping Association, as the best practice for standards in the industry. And like I said, if you're going to take a new shiny product off the shelf, make sure it can actually speak to everybody else in the industry. That's where DCSA comes in. And they're continuing to lead the effort to align these data frameworks across carriers, ports, and shippers. During that panel, I also emphasize that data itself needs to be part of infrastructure planning, right? Just like dredging a channel or building a new berth, ports should be investing in the digital foundations that make those assets work smarter. Because modern infrastructure isn't just concrete and cranes, it's also code and connectivity. But it certainly is concrete and cranes too. So we need to make sure that we're focusing on that. But we, this code and connectivity, this data side of things, it's important. Now, during this panel, we explored how ports are evolving from physical gateways into information ecosystems, where transparency, timing, and data sharing drive both efficiency and resilience. Now, look, why does this all matter? The maritime world is shifting from reactive to predictive. The future of smart strategy isn't about having more data, right? It's not about having more. It's about connecting, translating, and acting on the data we do have. And one takeaway that really rose to the surface, I thought, from this panel was that we don't have a data problem. We have a data translation and visibility problem. And I think we're getting there. We're getting there. We're moving forward. All right, story number two the LA fashion district case where tariff evasion turns criminal. So while we were discussing all of these things up in Quebec, the United States Department of Justice this week announced a case that proves why all of this matters, why you have to stay aware of what you're doing. And I don't think that this was a matter of aware or not aware, because this looks like it was a bigger deal. So this week the DOJ on their website announced LA Fashion District wholesaler and executives sentenced for money laundering and avoiding customs duties and taxes. Now, two executives were sentenced for laundering money and evading customs duties on apparel imports. The announcement said the defendants avoided customs duties and tariffs by purchasing garments from overseas manufacturers, including from China, but then submitting false information to the United States Customs and Border Protection CVP that understated the true value of the items being imported into the United States. Now, perhaps this wasn't just a bookkeeping error, right? Perhaps, and it seems that it was, a deliberate terror fraud, right? Agencies are now cross-matching customs, banking, and logistics data to catch these mismatched filings instantly. Now, why does this matter? For importers, visibility equals compliance. When data doesn't align, enforcement follows. This was an extreme example. It seems to it seems that they knew exactly what they were doing here. But with all of the tariff going back and forth and some of the questions that we had over this fall, it I guess I bring this up just to remind you, just stay vigilant. Make sure that you are trying to cross-reference, finding out from CBP directly. They usually are, they've been posting FAQs, frequently asked questions on their website. Make sure that you understand how you're supposed to be applying these tariffs, whether it's the USTR Section 301 port fees or whether it's actually your goods coming into this country. Make sure that you understand it because there are significant severe consequences. Customs brokers also help you with this. Just make sure that you have the right people around you because there's some criminal, this is they have some court some jail time from this DOJ announcement. All right, story number three. Let's take it back to DCSA. So, like I said, on this panel in Quebec, I talked about how important it was that any new technology we bring into ports and terminals, shiny new tools and dashboards can actually speak the language of the industry. And look, DCSA actually had an announcement this week. They launched their new standard conformance program, which confirms which ocean carriers are officially aligning with these digital standards and which standards they're adopting. Now, this program matters because DCSA is publishing these standards, and now you can find out who's picking them up, right? Some of these standards might include track and trace visibility to booking data to electronic bills of date, bills of lading, excuse me, the operational vessel schedule, commercial vessel schedules. These are all standards that DCSA has available. And now shippers can finally ask the carriers, which ones do you use? They don't even need to ask. They can see on this chart. So look, think of standards, right? Why do standards matter? I talk about standards all the time. I'm I'm pretty passionate about standards being such a critical piece of how we all move forward in digitalization. Think of it like email, right? If you use Gmail, maybe I use Outlook, maybe our systems don't match, but it doesn't matter because email has standards to make sure that the message is still delivered, right? Imagine if that wasn't the case. If every email provider had their own rules, you could only use messages from people in the same system. That's what container shipping kind of is, right? We've been dealing with it for years. Each carrier port freight forwarder builds their own software, perhaps formats, data codes. They're getting better at being able to talk to each other, but we shouldn't say they're getting better. We should just say they talk to each other. They're translated correctly. They all receive and send information and data cleanly between platforms. That's where these standards come into place. Track and trace standard, a perfect example. And look, you can now go look this up on their conf their conformance listing. So when you're comparing carriers or technology providers, you can now ask smarter questions. How are you implementing the DCSA standards? Are you implementing the DCSA standards? And how does that improve the visibility, speed, and accuracy for the shipper? Right? It's no longer enough for technology to just be innovative. And that's why I keep saying, ask questions. When you are taking those shiny platforms off the shelf, ask questions. Are they compatible? Right? Just like how email changed how we communicate globally. These DCSA standards, look, they're changing the world. One digital handshake at a time, if you will. But just ask questions and be informed on the questions that you're asking because we really are. It feels like we're at a pivotal moment where everything is going to start getting faster, getting more visible. But make sure that it all speaks to each other. All right, story number four, China's retaliatory port fees. Yes, you heard that right. So USTR has Section 301 port fees. Now China has responded. I mean, of course they were going to, right? China has responded with their own special port fees for US linked vessels. And also it goes into effect next week, October 14th. That date might sound familiar because that's when the USTR Section 301 port fees go into place. So what are they gonna, what are what's the what are they proposing? What's China saying here? They're gonna be starting with a fee per net ton that starts on October, and then it's going to increase every year annually on April, which is the exact same system that USDR Section 301 does. So we're looking at 400 won per net ton, which is about 56 bucks per net ton. And then we're gonna increase, we're gonna go 641 per net ton, which goes about 90 bucks per ton, and so forth, so on and for so forth. It's a mirror move, right? It's a ton for ton response to the US policy. Costs for US linked vessels are gonna rise each year, like I said. But also, just so you know, it's only on the first stop in into a Chinese port, and it's only up to five times. I think I it the information is just coming out today. But look, what does this mean? I mean, if you really thought about it, it's not a surprise, right? Of course, we have this USDR section 301 that is trying to impact behavior. Of course, China's gonna try to fight back on it. What this means to me is that this is gonna get a little intense with China for the next few weeks, perhaps the next few months. Things are gonna be coming to a head, but I don't necessarily see it as a bad thing. I mean, it's not gonna be comfortable for a while, but I think that the severity of these fees going into goods, I think it's going to be manageable. And I think that it's also the intensity is ramping up for sure, but I also think that this means that maybe we're gonna be pushing into an actual trade negotiation done deal. Maybe, maybe, right? It's death by a thousand cuts, it's all these things that are going on all at the same time. So this leads me into story number five. Bloomberg News, G Captain was reposting a Bloomberg article. Bloomberg was reporting that every link in the supply chain is already working to minimize exposure to the new USTR6301 vessel fees. We've talked about this a little bit where we've seen major ocean carriers rerouting their vessels, moving their vessels around so that they have non-Chinese built vessels calling the US. And so they're not just swapping vessels, they do have quite a few Japan, Korean vessels built in those countries that wouldn't be subject to the USTR Section 301s. They're just swapping them with the vessels that that perhaps maybe Europe to China vessels are now the Chinese-built vessels, and perhaps the US to China vessels will now be these Korean or Japanese vessels. So we've also seen, because there is a an exception for US-based companies, we've seen some reflagging into US flags. CMACGM did that. That was a great success. We're seeing some changing of behavior, and right, and that's exactly the point. The vessel fees were designed to influence behavior, not just collect revenue. They're intended to steer long-term fleet investment away from Chinese built or Chinese operated. And in that sense, I'd say that the policy is already working. We haven't even seen the first fee, which will go into effect next week in four days, October 14th. And actually, if I if you have anything to do with this, I suggest you go look up. There's new frequently asked questions where they're saying I think it's three days in advance you have to submit your payment for this, or there might be delays. So I go check it out. If you have anything, if you are part of a vessel that is coming into the US and it's a vessel that was built in China or it's operated in China by a Chinese company, make sure that you know what these fees should be because that also puts you in a better position if you happen to get charge to surcharge. Because even though the ocean carriers have said that they're not going to be doing general surcharges, I would also caution it's still as likely going to be a pass-through charge because it's not their fault, right? These vessels that they purchased from China, they purchased a while ago. You can't just go to the vessel store and go pick up a new vessel. So they aren't necessarily the reason why this fee is going into place. Neither are you, if you're the end consumer, if you're the end cargo owner. But everybody's just got to be informed on what's going on here. Everybody has to make sure. I've said this a million times before, but go, if you have shipping documents, if your goods are going on a vessel, go look up the name of the vessel in your shipping documents. Go Google that vessel and see where it was built. And then that way you know if you get a fee that passes through, maybe accidentally or maybe properly, you know, you know, because if it accidentally gets passed through to you, but you shouldn't have been subject to one of those fees, okay. Well, now you have a place to start with. But also, if you see that your your goods are on a Chinese built vessel, it's not your fault either. You might have some charges coming down to you, and it's better to know about them than to be surprised, right? So that's exactly the point here. Look, but the thing about it is it's just so important to know what's going on here, right? We saw a lot of blank sailings over the summer, and this is where that panel conversation we had, it actually came up. Just data, general data, but data without the human element doesn't tell you the full story. There were reports over the summer saying blank sailings are up. This is a big deal. I suggest that it wasn't a big deal because people, these ocean carriers were redeploying their fleets. They were getting the exposure to these port fees minimized. They were moving, like I said, their Chinese-built vessels out of the U.S. circuit as much as they could and moving their Korean or Japanese-built vessels into the U.S. circuit. And so what happens? They might have to skip a few port calls. And that's what happened. We saw some blank sailings tip up over the summer. And without that human element, without knowing the whole story, you might have suggested that something else was happening. I remain, I think those were just strategic vessel realignments, and those blank sailings over the summer were planned redeployments, short-term plan because they were reacting to the April, April USDR Section 301s, but they were planned. Carriers repositioning the assets. All right, story number six US-Finland icebreaker deal. Look, we had just yesterday, President Donald Trump and Finnish President Alexander Stubb approved a landmark agreement for the US to purchase or co-produce up to 11 Finnish-designed icebreakers for the U.S. fleet. Now, we are hobbling by with icebreakers. This is so critically important. The U.S. currently operates only a handful of active icebreakers, and the larger ones are often on dry dock, but Russia commands more than 40. So expanding to 11 new icebreakers means we get better Arctic access. We get better Great Lakes support. We have improved national resilience for extreme weather operations, and we can just be more places. It's important to have icebreakers. Finland brings proven designs. The U.S. brings scale and purpose and a renewed, new interest in shipbuilding. And together, this will build the backbone of a modern polar fleet. Look, it's data, it's design, it's diplomacy, all working together to strengthen America's maritime capabilities for the colder decades ahead, or perhaps just the colder months ahead. Here we are, it's October. I think we brought the cold weather down from Quebec back to the continental United States because it got chilly in New England here. All right. Well, final thought bringing it all together from Quebec City to LA to Washington to Helsinki. We are all over the place with today's episode. But look, one truth runs through it all, right? Visibility builds trust, and everybody's asking for more visibility. Standardization builds efficiency. I remain, I think that's important. Collaboration builds strength. And look, whether it's AI detecting unsafe cargo, carriers adopting DCSA standards, fleets responding to tariffs, or nations co-building icebreakers. The maritime world is modernizing fast. Look, Commissioner Dye of the FMC, she's often said this. I've said this on year before. You don't need more data. That might sound a little counterintuitive to all the things we talked about today, but you don't. You don't need more data. You need the right data. And that is the critical piece. That's what we talked about on the panel. And that's what I hope you get from listening to my shows. You need the right data. We need connected, contextual, comprehensive data that speaks the same language. And we need people to know how to use it, right? You need that human element. You can't just have numbers, you can't just have information. You need it to make sense. And so that's both computer, but that's human element as well. All right. Well, if you like this episode, be sure to follow, subscribe, and leave a review. Want to go deeper or bring this kind of insight to your team, visit themaritimeprofessor.com. We do corporate trainings, tailored briefings, on-demand webinars that make complex maritime regulations practical and easy to understand. And if your organization needs help navigating the legal or strategic side of ocean shipping, head to School Strategies. That's where I provide consulting services, regulatory guidance, and policy support for clients working in the industry. Now, this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. If you need an attorney, contact an attorney. So until next time, I'm Lauren Beegan, the Maritime Professor, and you've just listened to By Land and By Sea. See you next time.