Swedish tanker operator sails five vessels under the Swedish flag
After almost eight years sailing under the flag of the Faroe Islands, the Furetank vessel Fure Nord reverted to sailing under the Swedish flag during a ceremony that took place whilst she was loading at the Port of Gothenburg Energy Port. This is the first of five reflagging ceremonies planned by the company this year. The amended rules and tonnage tax introduced in 2017 have made it favourable for Furetank to once again sail under the Swedish flag, and more companies are in line to reflag in the future, Port of Gothenburg said in its press release.
With a growing number of vessels sailing under the Swedish flag, conditions will improve for preserving Swedish shipping expertise and the potential for Sweden to be a driving force internationally in environmental and shipping safety initiatives. A strong shipping sector generates jobs, both at sea and on land.
It was in December last year that Furetank, together with the shipping operators Älvtank and Erik Thun, announced that they had six newbuilds in the pipeline that will sail under the Swedish flag. Three of these belong to Furetank, with roll-out commencing in April 2018. At the same time, the company reported that two existing vessels, Furu West and Furu Nord, will be reflagged, a process that has already commenced.
Lars Höglund has met with the approval and admiration of fellow operators and Swedish shipping in general following the decision to reflag.
International competition in shipping is strict and the increase in the number of Swedish vessels that began to sail under other flags in recent years reflected the need to reinforce conditions governing the competitiveness of Swedish shipping. This was something the Swedish Parliament addressed in 2017 when it introduced a tonnage tax, which is a special tax regime for shipping. A shipping company can now pay tax in Sweden according to fixed tariffs based on the net tonnage of the vessels in the company’s fleet. The outcome in a tax that is transparent, straightforward and competitive, which is the norm in all the other EU countries.
