European ports freeze tariffs for 2010

European ports freeze tariffs for 2010    A trio of European ports are either lowering or freezing their port dues and tariff for 2010.
   On Thursday, the Antwerp Port Authority said it has decided to keep its 2010 port dues and concession fees in at 2009 levels, with most dues staying at levels from 2008 that were kept intact in 2009.
   The Belgian port has also pledged to cut fees by 10 percent for transshipment of conventional/breakbulk cargo, 'if employers and labor unions manage to make more efficient use of dock labor,' the authority said. 'With these measures the port authority seeks to combat further losses in freight volumes and employment, while extending a helping hand to shipping companies that are having to deal with the particularly sharp recession.'
   Meanwhile, the Port of Rotterdam is reportedly offering a 7 percent 'crisis discount' on port dues in 2010, according to the maritime consultant Dynamar. The port's dues were set to rise by 2 percent next year, so the effect of the discount will be to cut dues by 5 percent, the report said.
   Rotterdam will also postpone a 20 percent rise in pilot dues that had been planned.
   The Dynamar report also said the Port of Hamburg has decided to freeze its tariffs and is pondering a decrease in 2010 to lure business.
   In Asia, the Port of Busan took the radical step of allowing carriers to defer port dues for one year as a way to help cash-starved lines. In the United States, the Port of Houston earlier this week announced it was raising port dues for container cargo by 8 percent.