The UK Chamber of Shipping and seafarers' union Nautilus may have had their differences over tonnage tax, but they were singing from the same song sheet about reports that the Department for Transport has been asked to find cuts of between 25% and 40%. The Chamber has asked the government not to seek savings from the Support for Maritime Training Scheme, and warned that the withdrawal of the scheme could make it uneconomic for operators to train UK officers.
The Chamber has also expressed concern, with other major UK operators, that UK equality legislation mean that they would be obliged to pay crews at UK rates of pay, even if they do not pay their living costs in the UK or even set foot in the country. The fear is that operators may decide to flag their ships away from the UK.
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