Brexit is good news for shipping industry
Once the UK leaves the EU, it will be able to act as a brake on unilateral European Union action at the International Maritime Organization
IN last week's issue of shipping newspaper Tradewinds my good friend Adam Corbett reported that a British trade union official had been barred from becoming a member of the European Maritime Safety Agency's administrative board. Mark Dickinson, the general secretary of maritime union Nautilus International, ostensibly had his application rejected because he is male. That was unacceptable apparently because of the need for "gender balance". But it is also in line with a new blanket ban on British citizens taking such posts. He is, however, also the head of a union that has a branch in an EU country - the Netherlands.
Now please bear with me on this and resist the urge to turn the page. This not just about some parochial European spat. It is actually good news for the global shipping industry.
First, let me get one thing straight. Mr Corbett's report is fair and accurate. But it is also very downbeat, reflecting a widely held perspective in parts of the UK and EU shipping communities that Brexit - the UK leaving the European Union - is bad news.
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