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Lloyds List Comment

Up the ante

By Lloyds List Comment

Tuesday 2 February 2010

THE frustration that Britain’s maritime industry has felt for several years over its treatment by government is now bubbling into the open as the general election looms.

Support for shipping began so positively under Labour, with the introduction of the tonnage tax that, in turn, helped to revive the Red Ensign.

Ten years ago, Britain was seen as a shipping-friendly nation, with London’s banking, legal and insurance services benefiting as shipowners placed vessels into the tonnage tax regime and under the UK flag.

But for the past five years, much of that goodwill has dissipated, with the industry struggling to be heard.

Shipowners, brokers, agents, port operators and other members of the diverse maritime community finally realised that the only way to re-engage with the politicians was to join forces and present a united front when talking to government and other decision-makers.

That initiative is now working well but what clearly isn’t functioning properly is communication between various government departments. That point was made yesterday evening by Chamber of Shipping president Jesper Kjaedegaard when he complained about badly thought-out policies and called for “a more joined-up approach to dealing with our industry from government”.

Sadly, UK shipping minister Paul Clark was not present at the chamber’s annual dinner to hear the appeal and the industry could be forgiven for giving up until after the election. But there are still issues to resolve right now on both the Equality Bill, which the chamber claims could permanently harm London’s status as a world-class maritime centre, and the pending increase in light dues that risks driving some deepsea services away from UK ports.

The problem, though, as industry leaders readily concede, is that there are few votes in shipping. It may be the country’s third largest export earner, but shipping remains a relatively low-profile industry, one with which few members of the general public ever have any contact.

Efforts may be focused on building relations with those likely to be in power in a few months time but there is still a grave risk of long-term damage to Britain’s maritime sector unless it can regain the ear of this government in the coming weeks.

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