Maritime Transport
Note: Unless specified, please give information for the latest year available and indicate which
year. If insufficient space is provided, please attach additional information on separate sheets.
Please report all monetary values in their reported currencies.
Within this section of the questionnaire, two concepts will be frequently encountered:
commercial presence and cross-border supply. They are alternative modes of supply and are
defined by the WTO in the context of the GATS schedules of commitments. To avoid confusion,
a preliminary discussion of the two concepts is necessary. Foreign suppliers provide services
according to the “cross-border” mode if they operate from their own country without establishing
a local branch or subsidiary or acquiring shares in a firm located in the country to which the
service is destined. The “commercial presence” mode of supply means exactly the contrary, i.e.
the foreign firms establish locally in the country where they want to supply the service and open a
branch, subsidiary or participate to the capital of a local firm (the share can go up to 100%).
A. Market Access
Commercial presence
1. Are there policy restrictions to new entry (refer only to commercially-established operators)?
Service
International shipping
Cabotage
Cargo handling
Storage and warehousing
Freight forwarding
Pilotage, towing and tying
Maintenance and repair of
vessels
If yes, total
Entry by any
number of
Firm
firms allowed
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
Entry by
Firms with
foreign
participation1
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
If yes, number
of firms with
foreign
participation
allowed
2. If entry is restricted, what are the reasons provided by the government?
Use the definitions below to fill in the table:
1—To give the incumbent(s) time to prepare for competition. If so, please specify how
much time is given.
2—To increase government revenue from privatization or license fees
3—Exclusive rights believed necessary to attract (strategic) investment. If so, please
specify how many and how long exclusive rights are provided.
Reasons
1
This category also includes branches and subsidiaries of foreign suppliers.
Service
International shipping
Cabotage
Cargo handling
Storage and warehousing
Freight forwarding
Pilotage, towing and tying
Maintenance and repair of
vessels
1
2
3
Other (describe in brief)
Cross-border supply
3. Describe restrictions on cross-border supply imposed on foreign shipping companies:
Restriction
Application of principle of
reciprocity
Restrictions on the number of
foreign suppliers (indicate how
many foreign suppliers are
allowed)
Application of UN Liner Code
(provide quota applicable to
foreign suppliers)
Bilateral agreements including
cargo-sharing clauses (provide
total number and list countries
affected)
Cargo reservation if different
from the application of UN Liner
Code and bilateral agreements
(provide quota applicable to
foreign suppliers)
International Shipping
Cabotage
Liner
Tramp
Liner
Tramp
 No  Yes  No  Yes  No  Yes  No  Yes
Other:___________________
4. If cross-border entry is restricted, what are the reasons provided by the government?
To give the incumbent(s) time to prepare
for competition. If so, please specify the
duration given.
For national security reasons.
Other (please specify)
International Shipping
 No  Yes
Cabotage
 No  Yes
 No
 No
 Yes
 Yes
5. Please fill in the following table with information referring to the main international port (in
terms of traffic):
Port service
Pilotage
Towing
Tug assistance
Navigation aids
Berthing
Waste disposal
Anchorage
Other (please specify)
Are the following services
mandatory for ships entering the
port?
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
Is access to service discriminatory
for foreign carriers as opposed to
domestic ones?
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
B. Ownership
6. Is private ownership in the provision of services through commercial establishment allowed?
Service
International shipping
Cabotage
Cargo handling
Storage and warehousing
Freight forwarding
Pilotage, towing and tying
Maintenance and repair of
vessels
Maximum
Existing
private equity
operators
permitted (%)
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
New entrants
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
Maximum
private equity
permitted (%)
7. Is foreign ownership in the provision of services through commercial establishment allowed?
Service
International shipping
Cabotage
Cargo handling
Storage and warehousing
Freight forwarding
Pilotage, towing and tying
Maintenance and repair of
vessels
Existing
operators
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
Maximum
foreign equity
permitted (%)
New entrants
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
 No  Yes
Maximum
foreign equity
permitted (%)
8. Please fill in the table below, for the 5 most important international maritime ports with respect
to the amount of traffic.
Port
Port Authority
 Public  Private
 Public  Private
 Public  Private
 Public  Private
 Public  Private
Port type2
 Landlord
 Landlord
 Landlord
 Landlord
 Landlord
 Tool
 Tool
 Tool
 Tool
 Tool
 Service
 Service
 Service
 Service
 Service
 Other
 Other
 Other
 Other
 Other
C. Market Structure
9. Please list the characteristics of the 6 most important shipping lines in terms of market share in
the total maritime traffic (include foreign cross-border suppliers as well as commerciallyestablished companies).
Company
Year of service
Residency
commencement
(domestic/foreign)
International shipping
Market share
Cabotage
10. Please indicate the total number of commercially established operators providing the
following services in the main international port (in terms of traffic)3:
International shipping
Cabotage
Cargo handling
Storage and warehousing
Freight forwarding
Pilotage, towing and tying
Maintenance and repair of vesse1s
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
11. Please list the characteristics of the 6 most important commercially established operators in
terms of market share.
2
In the case of landlord ports, the port authority typically owns and manages infrastructure, private firms
are able to own superstructure, and provide port services as well as rent port assets by concessions or
licenses. In the case of tool ports, port authority owns infrastructure and superstructure, private firms
provide services by renting port assets through concessions and licenses. In the case of service ports, the
port authority owns assets and supplies services by directly hiring employees.
3
Exclude from port ranking the ports that are fully specialized on tanker or other bulk shipping services.
Name of firm
Year of service
commencement
Market share
International shipping
Cabotage
Cargo handling
Storage and warehousing
Freight forwarding
Pilotage, towing and tying
Maintenance and repair of vessels
Owners of capital and
their respective shares
(domestic/foreign)
12. How many conferences exist in the maritime services market?
13. What is the market share of conferences? __________%
14. Apart from conferences, are global alliances present in the market? If so what is their market
share?
D. Regulation
15. Characteristics of the sector regulator
Institutional status of sector regulator
When was the regulator established?
Is the regulator an institutionally
independent agency?4
How is the sector regulator financed?
License and other fees (%)
State budget (%)
Other ________________ (%)
How many technical and economic
professionals are employed?
For carriers
For ports
 No
 No
 Yes
 Yes
16. What are the conditions that a vessel or fleet must fulfill in order to fly the national flag (if a
national merchant fleet does not exist or an “open registry” system is in place, please specify).
17. If applicable, what are the conditions that a vessel or fleet must fulfill in order to be transferred
to open registries?
18. Is authorization required for the transfer to the open registries?
 No  Yes If yes, who authorizes?
19. If applicable, what are the conditions that a vessel or fleet must fulfill in order to be included in
the “second registry”?
20. Is any compensation mechanism instituted for vessels national flagged?
 No  Yes If yes, please specify the type of compensation mechanism.
“Institutionally independent” means that the regulator is not part of the ministry and is not linked to the
operating entity (national carriers/port authorities)
4
21. Regulation of carrier agreements
a) Do agreements between transport carriers (such as conferences) benefit from
exemptions to competition law?
 No  Yes
If yes, what types of carrier agreements benefit from exemptions?
b) What types of conference agreements are allowed?
 Open
 Closed
 Both open and closed
c) Are tariffs established by carrier agreements required to be filed or notified?
 No  Yes
d) Does the government enforce tariffs agreed upon within carrier agreements?
 No  Yes
e) Is fare discounting allowed?
 No  Yes
f) Does the regulatory agency monitor conferences’ activities?
 No  Yes
22. How are licenses for commercially-based operators providing maritime services allocated?
a) If the number of providers is not restricted by policy, specify the main conditions new entrants
must fulfill.
Service
International shipping
Cabotage
Cargo handling
Storage and Warehousing
Freight forwarding
Pilotage, towing and tying
Maintenance and repair of
vessels
Payment of license fee
(indicate amount in
local currency)
Other (describe in brief)
b) If the number of providers is limited by policy, through what mechanism are licenses allocated?
Service
International shipping
Cabotage
Cargo handling
Storage and warehousing
Freight forwarding
Pilotage, towing and tying
Maintenance and repair of
vessels
Competitive
tender







First come,
first served







Discretionary
decision







Other
(describe in brief)
c) Can the licenses be sold, once allocated?
 No  Yes
23. If the cross-border service provision by foreign carriers requires the appointment of a domestic
agent, describe conditions that the agent must fulfill.
Services
Conditions
International shipping
Cabotage
24. What are the licensing requirements for the cross-border service provision by foreign suppliers?
Services
License requirements
International shipping
Cabotage
25. Does port state control principle exist?
 No  Yes If yes, please specify reasons.
26. Public consultation and transparency
a) Which of the following are consulted in advance of regulatory decisions?
 Service providers
 Consumer groups
 User industries
 Other: _____________________
b) How are laws and regulatory decisions made public?
 Published on the regulator’s website
 Published in an official gazette
 Other: _____________________
E. Regional Integration Agreements in Maritime Transport Services
27. Please indicate if there are any preferential arrangements affecting maritime transport
services, and list the preferential5 measures.
Name of
agreement
Partner country(s)
in agreement
Date of entry
into force
Preferential measures
28. Do regional integration agreements harmonize rules and standards among parties to the
agreements?
 No  Yes
F. Past and Future Changes in Policy
29. Please indicate major changes in market access policies, ownership rules, and regulation
since 1990 (e.g., elimination of cargo sharing, UN Liner Code implementation and phasing out,
privatization of state-owned shipping companies, elimination of restrictions applied to foreign
service suppliers etc.) Please attach copies of laws and regulations.
Area of policy change
(market access, ownership
or regulation)
Year of
change
Description of change
30. Please indicate announced or anticipated changes in the same areas.
Area of policy change
(market access, ownership
or regulation)
5
Anticipated
date
Description of change
Please, specify how the treatment of maritime transport service providers of member countries of the
agreement differs from the treatment of maritime transport service providers of non-member countries.
G. Subsidies and Universal Service
31. How does the government define universal service (or universal access)?
32. Does the government subsidise domestic shipping companies?
 No  Yes If yes, please indicate the shipping company.
33. Has the government covered operational losses of shipping companies in the past five years?
 No
 Yes If yes, please indicate the amount in 1995 and in 2000.
H. Employment
34. Main employment indicators (for the years 1990-2000)
How many people are employed in the provision of maritime transport services? _______
What share of the total labor force is employed in this sector? _______
What share of workers is employed by state-owned operators? _______
What share of workers is employed by foreign-owned operators? _______
How many workers are employed at the main international port? _______
What share of workers employed in port services are unionized? _______
What is the annual average wage in this sector? _________
If time-series data from 1990 to 2000 is not available, please collect indicators for the years 1990,
1995 and 2000.
I. Investment
35. Investment indicators (for the years 1990-2000)
Services
Total amount of
investment
Total amount of
foreign direct
investment
Total stock of
foreign direct
investment
International shipping
Cabotage
Cargo handling
Storage and warehousing
Freight forwarding
Pilotage, towing and tying
Maintenance and repair of vessels
If time-series data from 1990 to 2000 is not available, please collect indicators for the years
1990, 1995 and 2000.
J. Prices
36. Please fill in the table below. For a comprehensive assessment of maritime transport
performance, it would be extremely useful to have historical data on prices or price indices for the
various services. If time series data are available, please attach them separately (preferably
electronically).
Indicator
Liner freight rate for standard shipment
from main international port to Sao Paulo
(or relevant neighboring country)
Liner freight rate for standard shipment
from main international port to Hong
Kong
Liner freight rate for standard shipment
from main international port to
Rotterdam
Liner freight rate for standard shipment
from main international port to New
York
Dry bulk charter rate for standard
shipment from main international port to
Sao Paulo (or relevant neighboring
country)
Dry bulk charter rate for standard
shipment from main international port to
Hong Kong
Dry bulk charter rate for standard
shipment from main international port to
Rotterdam
Dry bulk charter rate for standard
shipment from main international port to
New York
Tanker freight rate for standard shipment
from main international port to Sao Paulo
(or relevant neighboring country)
Tanker freight rate for standard shipment
from main international port to Hong
Kong
Tanker freight rate for standard shipment
from main international port to
Rotterdam
Tanker freight rate for standard shipment
from main international port to New
York
Cargo handling rates applicable at the
main international port
Forwarding rate applicable at the main
international port
Value
Date
Comments
Other available port service charges at
main international port (pilotage, storage
etc.)
K. Quality and Access to Services
37. Please fill in the following indicators of quality and access to services.
Indicator
Average duration of cargo turnover at
main international port6
Share of international trade, by quantity
and/or value, carried by sea
Share of international trade, by quantity
and/or value, carried by liners
Average amount of dry bulk loaded at
the main international port
Average amount of dry bulk unloaded at
the main international port
Average amount of tanker freights
loaded at the main international port
Average amount of tanker freights
unloaded at the main international port
Share of liner shipping, by quantity
and/or value, carried by conferences
Share of liner shipping, by quantity and/
or value, carried by global alliances
Share of liner shipping, by quantity
and/or value, which is containerized
Value
Date
Comments
Please, provide the name and contact information of the respondent of this questionnaire, or of a
specialist from whom we can obtain clarifications if necessary.
Name_________________________________________________________________________
Telephone_____________________________________________________________________
Fax___________________________________________________________________________
E-mail address:__________________________________________________________________
6
Measured from the moment the goods reach the port until the departure of the vessel