Bracing for Brexit

There are no clear indications

of how the decision by the

majority of Britons to exit

the European Union will

affect the freight sector, with

opinions split between those

who were in favour of Brexit

and those who opposed going

it alone.

In its reaction to the Brexit

vote, the United Kingdom

(UK) Chamber of Shipping

said in a statement: “We are

still an island nation that has

to make its way in the world

through buying and selling,

and the shipping industry

is here for that purpose…

shipping moves 95% of the

UK’s international trade and

we don’t see that changing.”

The worst-case scenario

includes British companies

– including those along

the logistics chain – losing

duty-free access to the

EU; shippers and freight

forwarders will have the

costs of adapting to new

UK-specific customs

regulations; the introduction

of such new regulations could

have the effect of creating

delays at UK ports and

terminals; and UK shipping

companies could lose the

right to offer cabotage

services throughout the EU.

On the plus side, British

ports should be exempted

from the EU’s proposed

Regulation on Port Services,

which has been opposed

by the UK Major Ports

Group and the British Ports

Association for imposing

unnecessary cost and

bureaucracy on the UK ports

sector.

There could also be savings

on EU tonnage taxes for new

British-owned vessels, and

the British government will

be free to offer incentives to

companies operating Britishflagged

vessels.

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The big picture

It is estimated that

the shipping sector

contributes over

R200 billion annually

to the UK economy,

and employs around

240 000 people.

The UK is one of the

top-10 ship-owning

nations according to

the United Nations

Conference on Trade

and Development,

with about 3% of the

total world tonnag