Helsinki District Court has ordered State of Finland to refund shipping company Finnlines Plc the fairway dues totaling about EUR 17.0 million including interest .
According to the ruling, the Finnish Act on Fairway Dues in force until 1 January 2006 has contained provisions which according to EU law were discriminatory. As a result, the company has been charged excessive fairway dues during 2001-2004.
If the judgment becomes final, it will affect Finnlines’ financial statements for 2015 positively with about EUR 16.5 million, the company said.
Fifty-two other shipping companies, both from Finland and abroad, filed claims for excessive dues and will be compensated a total of $ 100 from the state.