UK registered ships under review ahead of Brexit
International transport firms including Sweden’s Stena and Bermuda-registered Stolt-Nielsen are reviewing UK-registered ships ahead of Brexit to analyse if the flag will be an issue for future trading.
According to Reuters the companies are having separate reviews but have the same concerns.
“In the light of the Brexit process we are considering whether the UK flag can become a possible issue for us when it no longer will be an EU flag post the 29th March 2019, but we have taken no decisions and are reviewing different scenarios,” Ian Hampton, chief people & communications officer and Brexit spokesperson for Stena Line told the news agency on Wednesday.
They are not the first companies to make some changes for the future relationship with the UK. Earlier in January, British ferry and shipping freight operator P&O decided to change the registration of its vessels to Cyprus to keep its tax arrangements in the bloc untouched.
The move could complicate any attempts by the UK government to secure extra space on ships to help cope with potential disruption to trade in the case of no-deal Brexit.