Gothenburg Will Not Increase Port Tariff in 2018

Business & Finance

Swedish Port of Gothenburg has decided not to increase the charges set out in the port tariff for the third year in succession, keeping the charges for 2018 on the same level as 2015.

“By doing so, we are seeking to boost growth in industry, shipping and port operations. At the same time, we want to be part of the effort to curb rising logistics costs for our stakeholders,” Magnus Kårestedt, Gothenburg Port Authority Chief Executive, said.

Port charges, which are levied on all vessels that call at Gothenburg, are based on vessel type and gross tonnage, and are used to finance a range of activities, including fairway maintenance, traffic information and port safety.

According to Kårestedt, the company has managed to avoid the need for tariff increases through good cost control. The port is hopeful that this will inspire other companies and organisations involved in logistics operations to review their charges.

“If we all share the responsibility for making logistics more cost effective, this will prove crucial to our stakeholders’ competitiveness,” Kårestedt added.

The port already has a system whereby good environmental performance is rewarded with a discount on the port charge. Two globally recognised indexes are used as a basis for the discount system, for which one-third of vessels that call at the port are eligible. Vessels that switch to running on liquefied natural gas, LNG, receive a further discount.

“We expect a significant rise next year in calls by vessels running on LNG, and there will be a resulting rise in the number that qualify for our LNG discount. The transition that is taking place is encouraging, and we look forward to welcoming more LNG-powered vessels to the port with a 20 per cent discount per call,” Kårestedt informed.

Additionally, the port said that from this year it will be extending the discount period for calls by cruise ships, which will now run through to the end of December. With this move, the port expects to attract more calls and more cruise passengers to Gothenburg.