Maritime shipping is still a ‘crown jewel’ of our industry. But the attractiveness of the Netherlands as a country of water for the maritime sector is under pressure now that politicians and the public are ‘turning against large companies’.
There are more and more restrictive rules for companies, including in the areas of taxation and spatial planning. Researchers from The Hague Center for Strategic Studies (HCSS) warn about this in an unpublished report. For example, they point to shipbuilding group Damen, which may have to close its yard in Amsterdam to make room for housing. And to the CEO of dredging company Boskalis, who recently said he was considering leaving the Netherlands because of imminent strict rules on corporate social responsibility.
“Such developments can make international business very difficult and lead to more companies wanting to leave the Netherlands,” warns HCSS about the developments surrounding the business climate. In the report, which was viewed by De Telegraaf, the researchers also cite the tight labor market as a problem. Especially the shortages of technical personnel make the Netherlands less and less attractive for the maritime industry.
Major dangers
And that while that sector is becoming increasingly important for the Netherlands. The researchers point to the great dangers at sea. For example, more and more oil, gas and (wind) energy is being extracted at sea. But that comes with the necessary risks. For example, the study points to the submarine Nordstream pipeline that was blown up last year, which transported Russian gas to Europe.
Due to the war in Ukraine and the tensions between China and the West, the danger of sabotage or hacking of energy production at sea is also lurking for the Netherlands. In order to be able to deal with these threats, the Netherlands must ensure that it largely retains control of safety at sea. This also means that shipbuilding must remain in Dutch hands, so that our country is better guaranteed of material to respond ‘quickly and adequately’ to incidents at sea.
Conditions
The VVD has been concerned about the sector for some time. “Our shipbuilding industry has been under enormous pressure for years,” says MP Pim van Strien. Among other things, he argues for a ‘smarter maritime procurement policy’, by setting conditions that are only attractive to companies from their own country. In this way, Dutch industry will be strengthened, thinks Van Strien. He points to Italy and France, where almost all tenders go to companies from their own country. According to him, this is only slightly more than half in the Netherlands.