Numerous articles describe how current steel import tariffs could raise the cost of cars and homes. But not much attention has been given to their impact on shipbuilding costs.

Beginning in April 2029, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will enforce a requirement that 1% of all liquified natural gas (LNG) exports from the U.S. be shipped aboard a U.S.-built LNG carrier. The U.S. hasn’t built an LNG carrier in nearly 50 years. 

If you’re a shipping company that uses a Chinese leasing structure to finance your fleet but otherwise has no ties to China, what are you to do under the U.S. Trade Representative’s proposed measures?

With two fewer public shipping companies under Fredriksen’s control in a matter of months, speculation is growing. At 80 years old, is JF—the man known simply by his initials—strategically unwinding one of the most remarkable single-generation shipping empires ever built?

Just as inflation in everyday goods can persist when consumers have more disposable income, ship prices can remain elevated when their natural buyers—shipowners—are flush with cash.