JOC Staff | Feb 28, 2013 3:47PM EST
The Japanese Shipowners’ Association is urging the Suez Canal Authority to rescind the toll increase scheduled to go into effect on May 1.
In a letter submitted to SCA, the JSA expressed “deep disappointment” regarding the unilateral toll increase “without any dialogue between the SCA and Canal users,” following the 3 percent toll increase in May 2012, and “the current process in which a very short three-month notice period is given for Suez Canal toll adjustments,” saying that the SCA “does not take the business practices of shipping companies into account.”
“We believe that our position is shared within the international shipping industry,” the JSA added in the letter. The organization said it has been in communication with the Japanese government, the International Chamber of Shipping and the Asian Shipowners’ Forum regarding the issue.
The JSA estimated that the 2012 and 2013 toll increases would amount to additional accumulative costs of about $189 million from 2011 to 2020 for its members.