Regulation and price setting of pilotage services in Brazil
- PDF / 170,928 Bytes
- 13 Pages / 442.205 x 663.307 pts Page_size
- 41 Downloads / 206 Views
gulation and price setting of pilotage services in Brazil M a r c o s M . O. P i n t o a , D a v i d J . K . G o l d b e r g a , * , B r u n o S t u p e l l o a a n d C h r i s t o p h e r W. H a l e y b a
Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, University of Sa˜ o Paolo. Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 2231 – Sala ET04, CEP:05508-030, Butanta˜ , Sa˜ o Paulo, Brazil. b School of Earth and Environmental Science Department, University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wo llongong NSW 2522, Australia. *Corresponding author.
A b s t r a c t The Ministry of Ports (SEP) was created in 2007 to improve the efficiency of Brazilian maritime ports and boost international trade. One of the most important and challenging issues that SEP has been dealing with is the pilotage service provision. Although recognized as of good quality, the service is considered to be too expensive and unregulated. This article’s objective is to demonstrate that the Brazilian monopolistic and unregulated model is not suitable for a public utility service such as pilotage. To achieve this objective, two complimentary approaches were employed: a comparison of price and costs of pilotage services worldwide, and a comparison of service provision models worldwide. Alterations in the legal and institutional framework are suggested to implement an effective regulation mechanism. The authors propose the creation of a special committee, managed by SEP, to regulate pilotage prices. The results of the article have been submitted to SEP analysts and have been the cause of heated discussions involving pilotage associations, shipping companies, the maritime authority and SEP over pilotage legislation and pricing practices. Maritime Economics & Logistics (2010) 12, 430–442. doi:10.1057/mel.2010.15
Keywords: pilotage; maritime pilots; port services
r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1479-2931 Maritime Economics & Logistics Vol. 12, 4, 430–442 www.palgrave-journals.com/mel/
Pilotage services in Brazil
Introduction Rates of pilotage maneuvers have been considered expensive for more than 50 years. Recently, the precariousness and insufficiency of the Brazilian port system has led to the creation of a new ministry dealing solely with port development matters. Until then, the new ministry’s assignments were performed by an undersecretary at the Ministry of Transport, under the Department of Waterway Transportation. The current minister has chosen the pilotage sector as one of his priorities, along with the dredging of Brazilian ports and the expansion of their capacity, despite the political obstacles he would have to face (Revista Portua´ria, 2009). Owing to the importance of the pilotage service to the nation, it is expected to be under the supervision and regulation of the maritime authority, carried out in Brazil by the Navy’s Command of the Ministry of Defense. As competition for pilotage services could compromise port safety and security, many countries have established pilotage service monopolies at their ports and coastal areas. Monopolies favor pric
Data Loading...
