‘Constructive input from customers welcomed’

In the interests of balanced reporting, FTW invited comment from several shipping lines on Peter Newton’s comments. Most preferred not to engage in public debate on the issue. Safmarine however replied as follows: “Safmarine has been, and will continue to be, in full compliance in all jurisdictions relating to the complex regulatory environment in which we operate to and from South Africa – and we will cooperate fully on any request/investigation conducted by a recognised and relevant authority. “We believe the formula we use for calculating our floating baf to be a fair and transparent one. (Further details on the Safmarine BAF Calculator can be found at http://baf.safmarine.com). We have also always welcomed – and continue to welcome – detailed, constructive input from our customers with regard to maritime surcharges and other matters affecting their business.”