Channel fares warning
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• Cross-Channel ferry fares could rise by a massive 40%, once indirect taxes are harmonised across the European Community in 1992, the General Council of British Shipping warned this week.
This is because ferry companies will lose duty free revenue and have to apply VAT to their charges under the new proposals, says the GCBS, which represents most UK shipowners.
It is asking the European Commission to make shipping a special case due to its international nature, and fears that the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1992 will put even more pressures on shippers.
The changes will also apply to the Channel Tunnel, but the GCBS says ship owners will suffer most. Bob Duffy, the Road Haulage Association's international expert, says he cannot confirm the council's sums, but agrees that if fares do rise considerably it will persuade more hauliers to use the chunnel. El Ferry operators face tighter safety rules from this week, including a system of boarding cards to keep tabs on the exact number of passengers, and a law which makes failure to shut bow doors a statutory offence. Other regulations due this year include more safety officers and permanent emergency lighting on board.