LG calls for ports directive action
1 March 2005
Leading London Law firm LG has called on the shipping industry to makes its views on the EU’s proposed directive on market access to port services heard in Brussels.
Writing in the current issue of LG’s newsletter Shipping Lawgram, Christopher Tite, partner, says, “The old saying “Any port in a storm” is looking hollow. Over the next year or so, Europe’s ports may be the worst place to be, whatever the weather. The EU’s proposed directive on market access to port services has whipped up a storm that looks set to wreak widespread damage to the industry. If the directive is implemented in anything like its present shape, Europe’s ports will be hard hit. Port authorities, terminal operators, shipowners and operators need to make themselves heard in Brussels now.”
Tite goes on to warn that the UK government looks likely to push the directive through during its up-coming presidency, and says the directive is badly conceived and reveals a poor understanding of the way the port industry works.
“Put simply,” says Tite, “the draft directive says that if you have invested in port infrastructure which you use to handle cargo or passengers, you will have to compete for the future right to use it. Even if you win that right, you might have to share use with others. And in any event, your right will be subject to a time limit according to the type of investment you have made.”
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Christopher Tite
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