The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index edged up on Thursday, driven by gains across all vessel segments.
The main index rose 49 points, or 2.5 per cent, to 2,046 points.
On Tuesday, Washington and Beijing began charging additional port fees on ocean shipping firms that move everything from holiday toys to crude oil.
"Container freight rates are on a more positive trend, driven by disruption brought on by Chinese port fees just as US port fees took effect," analysts at Jefferies said in a note.
The Capesize index rose 142 points, or 4.9 per cent, to 3,058 points. Average daily earnings for Capesize vessels increased by $1,173 to $25,358.
Dalian iron ore futures extended declines to hit a more than six-week low on Thursday, weighed down by the anticipation of falling demand in top consumer China.
The Panamax index rose five points to 1,826 points, its highest since September 26. Average daily earnings for Panamax vessels rose by $47 to $16,433.
Among smaller vessels, the supramax index rose four points to 1,422 points.
(Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
