EU prepares a change in port taxation systems

EU analyses the possible reform of the current port taxation system, in order to favor some ship types. A study ordered by EU showed that faced with charges based on gross tonnage - essentially the interior/enclosed volume of the vessel - ship operators will seek to minimize the port charges levied on their vessels. While it is true that, in the short term, operators will be able only to vary the sailings of vessels according to the vessel types held in their fleets, in the medium to long-run the structure of port charges will determine the preferences expressed by shipowners for vessel types.

This will mean - and has meant - selection of vessels with smaller interior volumes for a given size of a ship’s carrying capacity, as measured by gross tonnage. Some evidence of the quantification of the impact may be deduced from the reduction in the ratio of Gross Tonnes per TEU carried. This reduced from 18.2/1 in 1969 to 12.1 in 1998. This statistic implies a reduction in the burden of charges for ship operators of around one-third over that 30 year period.