Tag: UK

Shipping adviser Moore Stephens welcomes this desicion International accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens has welcomed the UK government's decision to minimize the effect of new rules in Finance Bill 2012 which resulted in a potentially serious trap for existing UK shipowners entering tonnage tax.Finance Bill 2012 originally extended some anti-avoidance rules relating to leasing companies, so that they applied to existing UK shipowning companies chartering out ships which enter UK tonnage tax. But the rules have now been changed following representations made by Moore Stephens and by other shipping industry representatives.Moore Stephens tax partner Sue Bill says, "The rules apply where, very broadly, at least half the value of the company's plant and machinery is chartered out or at least half its income in the previous twelve months is from the chartering out of plant and machinery, including ships, even where the chartering is to another group company."As originally drafted, the proposed new rules could have applied where a UK shipowning company in a tonnage tax group entered tonnage tax because it started to carry on activities which qualified for tonnage tax, for example because it owned a vessel which ceased to be chartered out on a long-term bareboat ...

North Sea could become major renewable energy hub Britain's North Sea has the potential to lead the world in offshore wind and carbon capture and storage technology, British Prime Minister David Cameron said as over 20 companies signed a deal to turn the region into a major renewable energy hub.Major utilities such as Britain's Scottish Power and Norway's Statoil, manufacturers ranging from Siemens to Gamesa and supply chain companies are supporting a plan to develop the offshore wind potential of the North Sea, provisionally named Norstec.Further details about the operations of the network will be revealed at an offshore wind conference in London in June."This (will) make the North Sea again a source of investment ... (It) has the potential to lead the world in offshore wind and carbon capture and storage," Cameron told ministers from 23 countries attending a two-day clean energy summit in London on Thursday.The Crown Estate, which manages Queen Elizabeth's property holdings, also said it would explore whether offshore wind test sites can be set up in even deeper water, which could open up the energy potential of more of the North Sea.Britain has an ambitious target of installing 18 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power ...

Guidelines to address concerns related to alleged serious crimes and persons missing at sea The United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) has agreed to a proposal put forward by the United Kingdom, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), and the Philippines to develop guidelines to address concerns related to alleged serious crimes and persons missing at sea. All twenty four delegations that spoke after the proposal had been presented expressed their appreciation and supported it without exception.Building upon an earlier proposal from CLIA, the United Kingdom led a coalition of government and industry stakeholders in support of the proposal.UK Shipping Minister, Mike Penning said:"Taking a cruise should be a safe and enjoyable experience. However we have been reminded in recent years that crime exists at sea as it does on land, and we should be certain that there are effective mechanisms in place to respond to this. I am grateful to those at the IMO, our partners CLIA and the Philippines for their help in making such valuable progress. I would now urge all other flag states to get behind this important proposal."CLIA President and CEO, Christine Duffy, said:"CLIA greatly appreciates the extensive leadership and commitment of Minister Penning, the United ...

UK's port strategy moving forwar UK Shipping Minister, Mike Penning MP, met with the All-Party Parliamentary Maritime and Ports Group this week, to give the industry an update in terms of the Government's port strategy moving forward."For too many years the UK shipping industry has not been taken seriously", he said. "But the fact of the matter is, this country won't get out of the economic crisis without it."So how does the shipping minister aim to help support the industry in so far as ports are concerned? "By encouraging the use of smaller ports and improving infrastructure to take more boxes," he said. "Smaller UK ports are not currently utilised in the way thatthey could be."Sounds simple doesn't it, but it's actually a logistical nightmare to improve infrastructure on a smallisland. But as one attendee said to Port Strategy during the meeting:"It's entirely possible if every aspect of the industry works together - it works in other countries."The government intends to put in more road and rail links to improve traffic flow away from ports - and it was pointedout that there is money available to encourage these improvements in infrastructuretoo."Industry wants to see investment, but we really need to ...

UK Chamber of Shipping to focuns on green initiatives Helen Deeble, the new president of the UK Chamber of Shipping, has said that green initiatives will continue to be a focus for the organisation, although the sector's stability is of "paramount importance".Ms Deeble acknowledged that carbon and sulphur emissions, anti-piracy measures, safety standards and industry training would continue to dominate as policy issues, and promised that "running through all the chamber's work this year will be a true focus on the role of shipping and the maritime services cluster - and the benefits they bring to the UK economy".Ms Deeble, the first female leader of the organisation, is also chief executive of P&O Ferries.Source: Maritime Journal

Shipping companies and charterers will want to continue to pay British rates ? As regulation slowly and painfully filters down the private maritime security industry, a "proliferation" of new firms from emerging countries is inevitable and British PMSCs will price themselves out of the market, according to Norton Rose partner Philip Roche.The big question, Mr Roche said, is whether shipping companies and charterers will want to continue to pay British rates?"There will be a proliferation of PMSCs from countries like the Philippines and China. Their standards won't necessarily be worse but they will have a different approach. It is likely that, like so many other industries, UK PMSCs are going to price themselves out of the market," he predicted.Mr Roche said that the legal wrangling surrounding the Enrica Lexie incident - in which two Italian marines shot dead two Indian fishermen they thought were pirates - reflects the concern that large parts of the industry still have about putting guns on ships."We have opened a Pandora's box in a way and it has happened due to shipping's ability to self help. The legal and insurance world has reluctantly followed. It has always been a question of when rather than if ...

UK Government advisors on climate change say There is no longer any reason to exclude international aviation and shipping emissions from carbon budgets according to the Committee on Climate Change. This was the conclusion in the Committee's report "Scope of carbon budgets - Statutory advice on inclusion of international aviation and shipping".Emissions from international aviation and shipping were initially left out of carbon budgets and the 2050 target when the Climate Change Act became Law in 2008, with the decision on inclusion delayed to 2012.In the meantime, the Committee and the Government have acted as though international aviation and shipping emissions are in the 2050 target, based on a certain interpretation of the legislation. The risk is that a new Government would not adopt the same interpretation.In order to mitigate this risk, the Committee recommends that the current approach should be formalised through including international aviation and shipping emissions in carbon budgets and the 2050 target, therefore providing more certainty that it will be continued in future. Moreover, inclusion would provide the most transparent, comprehensive and flexible accounting framework under the Climate Change Act.Lord Adair Turner, Chair of the CCC said: "Including international aviation and shipping emissions in UK carbon ...

Britain criticised for 'particularly poor record' in international crackdown on Indian Ocean piracy Hundreds of suspected pirates arrested by the Royal Navy off the coast of East Africa have been immediately set free - to continue threatening merchant vessels in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Fewer than one in every five suspects picked up around the Horn of Africa over the past four years have been prosecuted for piracy-related offences, the Ministry of Defence has admitted. The figures will fuel growing criticism of Britain's involvement in the anti-piracy operation.Official MoD figures obtained by The Independent on Sunday show the Royal Navy has boarded 34 vessels suspected of piracy in the Indian Ocean since volunteering to lead Operation Atalanta, the EU's first naval mission, in 2008. However, on all but six occasions, the gangs rounded up were taken to the nearest beach and released - despite often being caught with equipment including guns and ladders. A list of boardings since November 2008 shows that the navy has detained a total of 279 likely pirates but allowed 229 of them to go free, some in groups of up to 17 at a time. Fifty more were sent on for prosecution ...

Climate change committee says that continuation of exclusion would be a watering down of carbon goal The government's green credentials will be put to a "key test" on Thursday, as ministers will be urged by their advisers to include greenhouse gas emissions from aviation and shipping in the UK's carbon targets.If airlines and container ships are included, the task of meeting the targets is made much harder. These two large and growing sources of emissions are currently excluded from the goals under a technicality.David Kennedy, the chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, challenged ministers to include the sectors in order to ensure the UK is meeting international obligations in spirit as well as in the letter of the law. "This will be a key test for the government," Kennedy said. "If we don't include these sectors, that would in effect be a lowering of the UK's carbon targets."The issue is one of acute political sensitivity, because politicians appear reluctant to jeopardise the rise of low-cost airlines offering cheap flights. Within the Conservative party ranks, it is likely to be particularly controversial given the increasingly open climate scepticism of many Tory MPs.Kennedy said he was aware of the potential ...

Committee on Climate Change's report on carbon emission budgets Today the Chamber of Shipping, the UK shipping sector's trade association, has responded warmly to the Committee on Climate Change's report on carbon emission budgets.The Chamber's Director of Safety & Environment, David Balston, said:"The Chamber of Shipping warmly welcomes the outcome of the work that has been done by the Committee on Climate Change with respect to UK shipping emissions. It provides the most accurate figures that we have seen and we unreservedly support its aims and recommendations. We are also very pleased to note their conclusion that any measure aimed at tackling emissions should be global in nature rather than regional, reflecting the truly international nature of shipping."A regional instrument, such as is being discussed within the EU at present would distort trade, be easily evaded and be extremely difficult to administer. The Chamber of Shipping continues to play a leading role in identifying the most appropriate and convincing strategies to reduce carbon emissions from shipping, recently producing detailed analysis on how both an ETS and Compensation Fund might work."The report can be downloaded from the Committee on Climate Change website by clicking here.Source: UK Chamber of Shipping