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The UK Chamber of Shipping (CoS) will be working with fellow British maritime associations to draw up a unified »manifesto« or wish-list of policies for national shipping and ports after the country leaves the EU

It is planned to be presented to the UK government after its summer recess. The move was announced by CoS[ds_preview] chief executive Guy Platten at a seminar entitled »Brexit: What Next?« hosted by the national shipowners’ body at its London headquarters. Shipping now has a »unique opportunity« to influence government policy since »minds will never have been more open« on matters of international trade after the June 23 referendum vote, Platten explained.

Therefore CoS will be consulting widely with members, and with fellow partners in Maritime UK – the national umbrella body also including the UK Major Ports Group, engineering group the Society of Marine Industries, and business services’ body Maritime London – in order to agree »a consistent message on really important things to take to government,« he said.

Indicating the CoS preferences as to what those messages should include, he indicated »free trade, free access (to the Single Market) and free movement of crew,« but at the same time he stressed that different shipowners would have different priorities and that the CoS actively welcomed their ideas.

For example, panellist Alistair Eagles, chief executive officer of Irish Sea operator Seatruck Ferries, said the re-imposition of border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland could have a serious impact on his company’s business.

A representative of Stena Line, which also operates on the Irish Sea as well as North Sea, likewise expressed concern over the likelihood of an increased administrative burden, and wondered »how quickly the shape of any future UK trade agreements might crystallise.« Stena was initially reported to be considering re-flagging any ships it had under the UK Ship Register following the vote, but has since downplayed the suggestion.

Various political and business speakers speculated that the UK would likely be seeking to negotiate European Economic Area membership, failing which it would revert to the default option of World Trade Organization rules on trade.

»Passporting rights« within the EU for financial services and the insurance industry were highlighted as a key aim, and it was thought that this should not pose too great a problem since, for example, it was pointed out that a lot of EU-based insurers already enjoyed reciprocal rights in the UK through an agreement with Lloyd’s of London. However, the audience was left in no doubt that the EU was likely to play hardball since politically »it could not be seen to allow Brexit to be success,« as one speaker put it.

On a more positive note, lawyer Toby Stephens from Holman Fenwick Willan suggested there might be an opportunity to improve UK tonnage tax so as to attract more shipowners to be based in the country. While EEA membership would probably require the UK to still abide by the European Commission’s EU’s Guidelines on State Aid to Maritime Transport – as is the case for Norway – it was pointed out that Cyprus and Greece already seem to enjoy more liberal regimes within that framework, suggesting the UK might seek to follow suit and introduce greater incentives.

The UK flag was highlighted by Stephens as another area which Britain might now seek to »reinvigorate« in order to attract more blue-chip overseas ship owners. »International tonnage has risen by 34% since 2009 but UK tonnage has shrunk by 29%,« he said.

As regards the ports sector, the lifting of any requirement to abide by the controversial EU Port Services Regulation would be welcomed by a UK industry that is already some 75% privatised, but again this would depend on the exact nature of the UK’s future trade arrangements.

For example, it remains unclear whether the UK might be able to replicate a TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) deal with the US similar to the one currently being negotiated by EU.

Here, as in much else surrounding Brexit, there remains a great deal of uncertainty. It is »unchartered waters« not only because no country ever left the EU – except Greenland, when it became an Overseas Territory of the EU instead – but also because »the trend has always been to decrease trade barriers,« as Allie Renison, Head of Europe and Trade Policy at the Institute of Directors pointed out. Despite much talk of the UK now wishing to embrace Free Trade Agreements, that process was now being reversed because greater barriers would inevitably ensue, she observed.

It was left to Richard Greiner, partner in Moore Stephens, to remind that UK remains one of the world’s premier hubs in terms of maritime areas such as insurance, law, accountancy, shipbroking and education – not to mention being home to the IMO and other international bodies that require large numbers of shipowners and technical experts to rotate regularly through London – and that was a role it was unlikely to relinquish anytime soon, Brexit or not.


RD