18 Shipgaz No 6 2010
By Pierre Adolfsson pierre@shipgaz.com
Report Shipping politics
By Bent Mikkelsen bent@shipgaz.com
PHoTo: PÄR-HENRIK SJÖSTRÖM
Dismal outcome of report on Swedish shipping
To the shipowners’ dismay, the long awaited report on the competitiveness of Swedish shipping argues against an international register. Meanwhile, the Swedish-flagged fleet is shrinking rapidly. Recently, the Swedish government was handed the report “Competitiveness of maritime transport under the Swedish flag”. Soon afterwards, the report was criticised and roundly rejected by shipowners around the country. And understandably so.
The report instructions left the door open for the report’s author to propose measures to strengthen competitiveness. The government also wanted the report to consider the possibility of introducing a Swedish international shipping register, a so called SIS. An international register would make it possible for Swedish shipping companies to compete on equal terms with the nighbouring competitors, as it would reduce manning
costs considerably. But the road to an international register is a long one as the person in charge of the report , Jonas Bjelfvenstam, argued against SIS in his summary. “For SIS to have the desired effect, amendments to Swedish labour legislation are needed. These amendments are of such a nature as to contravene international conventions that Sweden has ratified. Amendments to Swedish labour law may, in my view, lead to more sectors demanding similar regulatory amendments. I also fear that there will be difficulties achieving sustainable long-term
»For an SIS to have the desired effect, amendments to Swedish labour legislation are needed«
Jonas Bjelfvenstam, report author.
conditions for maritime policy with a SIS. In the light of this, I cannot recommend introducing one.”
Håkan Friberg, Managing Director of the Swedish Shipowner’s Association, is stunned by Jonas Bjelfvenstam’s conclusions. “We’re off course very disappointed that a Swedish international register is not recommended and that the maritime sector is not viewed as a growth industry”, he says and continues: “We consider it positive that the report was sent out for comment only within days after it was handed over to the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications. Another ray of hope is the special statement included in the report. The statement is very critical of the report’s conclusions and