the port of Rotterdam loses containerized trade because of the aids publics granted to the German and Flemish ports of call



The aids publics to the German and Flemish ports penalize the port of Rotterdam, than in absence of such economic supports it could enliven about 7% in more than containerized trade acquiring a volume of annual traffic pairs to about 800 thousand teu (with reference to the traffic almost 11,9 million teu realized from Rotterdam in 2012). The denunciation has reached directly from the Dutch government and the Harbour Authority of Rotterdam has picked the ball to the leap in order launch hard accusations to the concurrent ports of call: "the Port of Rotterdam Authority - the managing director of the Authority has protested, Allard Castelein - finances the investments in harbour infrastructures free lance, while the governments in Flanders and Germany lavish contributions or cover the costs if who manages their ports realize a loss. This - Castelein has contested - door to a distortion of the market, so that the terminals of Rotterdam forgiveness traffic to advantage in particular of their rivals of Amburgo and Antwerp".

The effect of such economic aids publics on the containerized traffics of the ports of northern the range is analyzed in the study "Level playing field" commissioned from the Dutch ministry of Infrastructures and the Atmosphere to the institute of search and formation RHV of the University Erasmus di Rotterdam and to the society of Ecorys advising of the Netherlands Economic Institute (IN I). According to the report, in absence of such aids publics - always with reference to the volumes of traffic of the container recorded in 2012 - the port of Amburgo would lose 2% of the enlivened traffic, pairs to -200 thousand container in less, the port than Bremerhaven it would lose 7% of the traffic, pairs to -400 thousand teu, the port of Antwerp would accuse a reduction of the -2% of the containerized volumes, pairs to -200 thousand teu, the port of Zeebrugge would record a decrease of the -7%, with 100 thousand container in less on the total, and the cut to the traffic of the port of the Havre would be pairs to the -1% onthe 2,3 million one teu enlivened from the French port of call in 2012.

In the 2012 Dutch ports they have enlivened altogether 589,6 million tons of goods, of which 441,5 million tons in the single port of Rotterdam (125 million tons in container), while the German ports have enlivened 263,1 million tons of goods and the Flemish ports 257,2 million tons.

The study evidences that the annual public economic support to the German ports is pairs to 1,18 euros for each enlivened ton and that to the Flemish ports is pairs to 1,12 euros/ton. Such money is spold for the realization of infrastructural works in the ports let alone in order to cover the managerial costs of the ports and to level their losses.

The precise analysis and evidences that the Dutch authorities spend 0,06 euros for maintenance/ton or improvement of the marine accesses to the ports and that the investments publics to clearly of these specific expenses in the concurrent ports are 0,81/tonnellate pairs to for the German ports, 0,54 euros/ton for the Flemish ports and to zero euro/ton for the Dutch ports. More in particular, in Germany - where in the 2012 support to the ports he is piled altogether to 309 million euros - the tenor of the aids publics turns out to be pairs to 1,12 €/tonn in the port of Amburgo (0,77 €/tonn to clearly of the expenses for the marine accesses to the ports), to 1,02 €/tonn in the port of Bremerhaven (0.81 €/tonn) and to 1,61 €/tonn in the ports of the Sassonia Lowland (0,92 €/tonn), in Belgium - where the support total is piled to 289 million euros - to 0,85 €/tonn to Antwerp (0,45 €/tonn), to 1,34 €/tonn to Ghent (0,43 €/tonn) to 1,60 €/tonn to Zeebrugge (0,77 €/tonn) and 8,39 €/tonn to Ostenda (3,69 €/tonn), in France - where the aids publics have been attested to 17 million euros - to 1,16 €/tonn in the port of the Havre (0,00 €/tonn) and to 0,15 €/tonn in the port of Dunkerque (0,00 €/tonn), while in Holland - where the public expense has been of 36 million euros - it turns out pairs to 0,02 €/tonn in the port of Rotterdam (0,00 €/tonn) to 0,04 €/tonn in the port of Amsterdam (0,00 €/tonn) and to 0,41 €/tonn in the other Dutch ports (0,00 €/tonn).

The study emphasizes that in order to establish conditions of fairness in the field of the financings to the ports in north-western Europe the public support financial would have to be equal in all the nations of the E region rather deep the public authorities would have to abstain distributing of support to the ports.

The competitive position of the Dutch marine ports - the Dutch minister to Infrastructures and the Atmosphere has declared, Schultz van Haegen - is under pressure because the German and Flemish ports benefit in meaningful way from the support of the government. "The European ports - it has observed the minister - must compete in way corrected between they. Therefore a fair competition to parity of conditions is necessary. The outcomes of this study put in clearly once again that the measures of Europe on the ports would have to include lines guide on the aids of State and the transparency that hold account of the ports. To influence the harbour rates with public resources - it has concluded Schulz - is a thing that belongs to the past".

From part its Harbour Authority of Rotterdam has observed that the percentage of 7% in more than containerized trade lost from the Dutch port because of the aids publics granted to the concurrent ports salt to 10% if the costs for the dredgings of Elba, the Schelda and the Meuse river are counted also. A percentage of 7% or 10% for the containers - the harbour agency has rimarcato - amazingly is elevated considering the fact that the harbour taxes in Europe (constituted by for services technical-nautical rates and the terminalistici and harbour costs) represent alone 4% of the relative costs to the transport of a container from Asia to a destination in Europe. "The impact is so important - it has emphasized the harbour authority - because of the pitiless competition in the market of the container. A pair of euro for container can make the difference".