#maritimenation

A BLUEPRINT FORGROWTHPriorities for leaving the European Union

This document is a summary of the UK Chamber’s fuller Blueprint for Growth. It sets out what the

shipping industry believes to be the absolute priorities for the UK government ahead of its negotiations.

In short, these are:

• Preserve existing ease of doing business

• Ensure business has access to the world’s brightest talent

• Reform domestic maritime policy to put the UK on the best possible footing post-Brexit

Ensuring trade can pass freely and quickly through UK ports to preserve existing ease of doing business

The UK Chamber of Shipping represents 170 companies in the maritime service sector. It is an industry that moves 95% of the country’s international trade and supports 250,000 jobs. The UK is a world centre for maritime law, finance, broking and insurance, maritime education, ship management, marine manufacturing and engineering.

Leaving the European Union will not change many of the UK’s greatest strengths - its time zone, common law, English language and geographical position. Nor will it change the fact that the UK, as a cultural hub with excellent public infrastructure, is a place where people from around the world want to live and develop their talents. What could change however is the nature of its trading relationships and the regulatory environment that manage them.

Depending on the nature of the separation, leaving the European Union could be to the benefit or detriment of the UK – as indeed it could be to the remaining members of the union.

The removal of Customs controls in 1992 stimulated huge growth in the UK trade with its EU neighbours, the overwhelming majority of which is moved by ferry, container, general cargo and bulk shipping. At each of the ports that have seen the strongest growth, new berths have been added enabling them to handle larger ships but the areas of the terminals where the traffic is processed have remained unchanged in size. The significant increase in port capacity is due almost entirely to the fact that lorries do not need to stop and await permission from Customs before embarking on a ship, offloading their goods or leaving the port and proceeding inland, and can instead drive straight though the terminal.

The maintenance of current trade volume is critically dependent on the traffic continuing to pass through ports freely. £120bn of goods is transported on ferries to and from Dover alone every year and the re-imposition of significant customs checks and controls will have a profoundly negative effect on the shipping sector and the UK’s ability to trade with the European continent.

It is imperative therefore that British negotiators treat the maintenance of unimpeded trade through ports as non-negotiable.

A global industry requires a global workforce. As one of the world’s leading maritime hubs, it stands to reason that the UK requires access to the world’s best talent in order to maintain and improve its international standing.

Ensuring business has access to the world’s brightest talent and the UK welcomes business and tourist travellers without need for visas

Reform domestic policy to put the UK on the best possible footing post-Brexit

The UK shipping industry invests heavily in training UK seafarers but to be competitive, UK shipping companies need to be able to draw on this global pool for talented and experienced personnel, just as their competitors do in overseas shipping centres such as Singapore and Dubai. At the moment, the awkward, slow and unpredictable nature of the UK visa regime makes it excessively difficult for UK shipping companies to recruit such personnel from outside Europe, or even to bring in existing personnel from their offices overseas.

The regime needs to facilitate, rather than obstruct, the transfer of skilled marine personnel around global shipping companies’ network of offices; and it needs to assist UK-based companies in sourcing personnel on the basis of expertise and talent rather than their nationality. The regime needs to be simple, straightforward, predictable and stable; above all, the regime needs to inspire confidence among shipping companies that it is designed to support their business.

Similarly, passport checkpoints at airports need to facilitate crew members arriving in the UK to join ships, in line with the special provisions for seafarer travel in UK law and international Conventions – to support the operation of ships from UK ports and re-establish the UK as a hub for crew transfers.

Government should also ensure that the 21 million ferry and 2 million cruise passengers arriving in the UK by ship can do so with ease. Virtually all such travel is discretionary and, for cruise business in particular, the UK competes as destination with other countries in Europe. Each passenger on a visiting cruise ship is estimated to be worth £85 to the local economy, and a passport checkpoint that is efficient and welcoming - rather than hostile and slow - is vital to retain and grow this business.

Securing a positive deal with the remaining members of the European Union must go hand-in-hand with reforming existing domestic policy to ensure the UK is on the most competitive footing once outside the European Union. This will help maximise opportunities and mitigate risk. This is particularly pertinent to the Tonnage Tax regime which has done so much to attract international shipping to the UK. If the future regime lies outside EU State Aid rules, Tonnage Tax should be extended to ship management companies, the existing discrimination against the Red Ensign Group should be removed. A more flexible Tonnage Tax will make the UK much more competitive and attractive.

The UK flag remains 18% smaller than five years ago. A much stronger focus on customer service is needed if the UK Ship Register is to compete with other ship registers and attract tonnage to the UK. Change has been promised but Government should publish an ambitious timeline of planned reforms immediately to avoid further delays in solving what is now an urgent problem.

Further investment in support for maritime training, in return for companies committing to employing cadets on completion of their training is also urgently necessary.

Other opportunities, depending on the nature of the future EU relationship include:

• A new red tape challenge to identify and remove outdated EU regulation

• An ability to strengthen the UK’s role at the International Maritime Organisation, providing real

leadership free from Brussels control

The UK Chamber of Shipping is the trade association and voice of the UK shipping industry, with more than 170 members from across the maritime sector. We work with government, Parliament, international organisations and others to champion and protect our members, and the contribution they make to the economy.

UK Chamber of Shipping 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQTel: +44 (0)20 7417 2800 Email: jroberts@ukchamberofshipping.comWeb: www.ukchamberofshipping.com Twitter: @ukshipping