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Lights Due for a Rethink, Shippers Tell UK

01 Mar 2003

A grouping of major shipping lines have warned the British government that they could end direct calls at UK ports and even go to court unless light dues are brought into line with those in most other European countries. The dues, which fund the provision of navigational aids, are paid for by taxation in all European countries except the UK, Ireland and Greece.

British ports and their customers argue that they are put at a competitive disadvantage by the higher cost of UK port calls due to light dues, which can be as much as £12,000 for a 6,000teu boxship. A new study by the Independent Light Dues Forum, consisting of 21 shipping companies, shows that the cost of calling at UK ports is higher than ports in mainland Europe, although the proportion of cargo discharged in the UK is generally lower.

Merchant vessel owners pay £71m out of the £73m annual cost of maintaining 350 lights, 690 buoys and 220 beacons.

Pleasure craft do not pay. The report says container groups are constantly reviewing their call patterns with an eye to reducing costs and that light dues make the UK a conspicuous candidate for avoidance.

MJ Information No: 17909

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