In Argentina the authority antitrust recommends a cost reduction of the services of pilotage and mooring



The national Commission for the protection of competition (CNDC) of Argentina has subordinate to the government a document in which recommends to reduce the cost of the services of pilotage and mooring carried out in the ports and the water ways of the nation to the aim to promote the commerce with foreign country, costs that - it has evidenced the authority antitrust - more is elevated regarding the average of the E region has an impact negative on the costs of the logistics.

Emphasizing that the hour cost of the services of pilotage in Argentina is double regarding that of the carried out services, for example, in the ports of Chile and triple Belgium and regarding that of the ports of the United States, the CNDC has exhorted to introduce measures that allow a reduction of about 20% of the costs of pilotage in Argentina, measures that - it has still emphasized the authority - would allow with the state to save eight million dollars only relatively to the gas imports per year for residential use.

The CNDC has arrived to these conclusions as a result of a specific study realized from the authority in which it finds that the field of the services of pilotage in Argentina anticipates potential problems constituted from the lack of competition, barriers to the income in the market and from the possible dependency from the supply of other harbour services.

The analysis of the field carried out from the national Commission for the protection of the competition has examined also compares with the costs of the practiced services of pilotage in other markets and has evidenced that in Argentina, for example if of ships directed to ports on the Paraná river, such costs can represent until 45% of the cost total of the harbour services that must be supported from a navigation company.

The analysis remembers that, according to a study of the May 2016 of Broken-winded de the Comercio de Rosary, the costs of pilotage in the port of Rosary and on the Paraná river for a ship portarinfuse with a cargo ability of 65 thousand gross capacities in tons are pairs to 104 thousand dollars and represent 5% of the cost total of the marine transport towards China. With a traffic anniversary of about 2.200 ships - the analysis finds - the annual cost of pilotage in this area turns out of about 220 million dollars. Moreover, if of Rio de the Plata, esteem that the cost anniversary of pilotage for the ships that do not go back the Paraná river is of 12 million dollars, with average of about 30 thousand dollars for each ship, while in the port of Bahía Blanca the cost anniversary for the pilotage is of about 15,5 million dollars (17,100 dollars for ship). Relatively to the ships to metaniere, esteem that the cost anniversary of the pilotage services piles to 44,1 million dollars, figure that represents 21% of the cost total of the ports of call in the ports at the expense of the shipowner.

About I compare specific of the costs of pilotage in Argentina with those practiced in other nations, the analysis finds that, if of services of pilotage of short duration, in the Belgian port of Antwerp the hour cost is of 920 dollars, in Turkey (Dardanelli) of 1.153 dollars, in the Dutch port of Amsterdam of 1.390 dollars, while in the Argentine port of Bahia Blanca they pile to 1.920 dollars. Relatively to the services of pilotage of average lasted, in the channel Egyptian of Suez the hour cost is pairs to 390 dollars, in the area of the Mississippi in the United States to be included among 400 and 800 dollars, in the Uruguayan part of Rio de the Plata turns out of 1.246 dollars, while in the Argentine part of the river it is of 1.444 dollars. With reference to the services of pilotage of long duration, in the area of the Mississippi the hour cost is of 359-718 dollars, in the Canales Fueguinos in Chile it is of 408 dollars and on the Río Paraná in Argentina it is of 941 dollars.

About the mooring costs, the analysis of the CNDC observes that, if of ships that are not to metaniere, that is ships that are used for the Argentine exports and the imports in the ports of the Paraná river, the cost in average is of about 100 thousand dollars, pairs to 45% of the costs totals that a ship must support (about 220 thousand dollars). For a metaniera ship, the cost of the mooring services is of 250 thousand dollars, cost - the study remembers - that is borne by the State. The document of the CNDC emphasizes that a not metaniera ship pays the double quantity regarding the cost supported in Spain, China and Chile.

As a result of this study the CNDC has advised to the undersecretary to the Navigable Ports and to the Way of the correlated service and Ministry of Transportation to establish the maximum rates of pilotage for services, that they would have to remain in vigor until will be verified conditions of effective competition, and to define a procedure for the periodic update of the rates of the pilotage services. Moreover the CNDC has advised to the Secretaría de Gestión de Transporte and to Marina Militare of the Argentina Republic to assume the measures necessary in order to prevent the possible creation of barriers that they hinder the income in the market of the harbour services.

"The overwhelming majority of the exports and the imports - the secretary al Commercio has commented, Miguel Braun - happens by sea. For this reason the costs of the harbour services, between which those of pilotage and mooring, they are an important member of the connected logistic costs with the international commerce. If there are abuses, we block them to the aim to improve our competitiveness and not to waste the resources of all the Argentine".