Pilotage tariffs will decrease slightly in 2018

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has set the 2018 pilotage tariffs. The pilotage tariffs for 2018 decrease by 1 percent compared with the 2017 tariffs. A combination of three factors has led to this slight drop.

World trade is picking up

The most important factor is that world trade is picking up, and will continue to do so in 2018. It is therefore expected that 2018 will see more pilotage trips than in 2017. As a result, tariffs can decrease.

The creation of alliances continues

The creation of alliances in the container sector is expected to continue in 2018. The Dutch maritime pilots use a frequency discount scheme: the more often a shipping company or a cluster of vessels requests pilotage trips, the higher the discount will be. Alliances result, on average, in higher discounts, and thus in higher base tariffs. This factor mitigates the tariff decrease.

Reduced frequency discount

In consultation with the sector, the Dutch maritime pilots have reduced the maximum percentage of the frequency discount. This will lead, on average, to lower discounts, and therefore to lower base tariffs. This will benefit smaller shipping companies that qualify for small frequency discounts (or none at all).