Dear Member,  

Ahoy shipmates. There’s a port-centric feel to this week’s bulletin as I press-gang you into attending this year’s fascinating CILT Shipping Lecture and look at the intriguing future for many of the UK’s ports.

Imagine if your business suddenly got stuffed for unexpected rates bills backdated to 2005. In 2008 port-side operators were hit by revised rate bills backdated to 2005 by the Valuations Office Agency. Added to this, changes to the Port Assessments, previously assessed and paid for as one overall rate by the Port Operator, means that each individual site/building was re-assessed with the tenant becoming responsible for picking up the bill. Operators say they were not informed of the change, and a few even claim that their landlords did not reduce the rent they charged in 2005, even though they would no longer be paying business rates!

All is not ship shape and Bristol fashion therefore in the ports industry. (By the way that old phrase refers to the huge differences in tides in the old port of Bristol, which meant everything had to be tied down tightly there. Fact). Fourteen businesses claim they were forced into bankruptcy by the backdated bills.
The latest company to go under is port agency and stevedore Scotline Terminal Goole (STG), which was declared bankrupt this month.

Against this background Peter Aarosin, the Chief Exec of RMS Group, which runs port-side operations for Humber ports, is set to give a pretty frank address – as the title of his lecture – The Tale That Wagged The Dog – indicates. Join the mutiny and book here to attend his lecture, Thursday 15 April at London’s Hallam Street Conference Centre..............more

David Jinks  Editor

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