Shipload of US soybeans trapped off Chinese coast thanks to trade war

The ship was due to unload 70,000 tonnes of American soybeans in China but is now stuck circling aimlessly.

The ship was bound for Dalian Port in China but is now circling aimlessly. Source: Getty Images

A shipment of soybeans worth more than $US20 million has been stuck bobbing aimlessly in the Pacific Ocean for almost a month thanks to the mounting US-China trade war.

The Peak Pegasus, a 229-metre bulk carrier was set to unload about 70,000 tonnes of the American beans at the Chinese port of Dalian on July 6, according to the Bloomberg wire service.

Soybeans are the top US agricultural export to China. Source: AAP

However, Chinese-imposed tariffs on US trade goods were introduced just hours before the vessel docked and the JP Morgan Asset Management owned ship has been forced to sail in circles as its owners decide what to do.

The South China Morning Post has reported the Amsterdam-based company is paying about US$12,500 a day to continue chartering the ship, which is still sitting off the coast of China.

Soybeans are the top US agricultural export to China.

China introduced tariffs on a host of American agricultural goods this month, in response to US president Donald Trump’s announcement $16 billion worth of Chinese goods would be hit with tariffs.

Tensions between the US and China have been simmering as the Trump administration takes a more protectionist stance on trade.