Weekly Snapshot

Anyone who follows the stock markets or politics will know that a ‘trade war’ can be a serious matter. Indeed in response to the US President’s tariff announcements on Wednesday multiple UK politicians have very sombrely and ominously used the term that they will “act in our own national interest”, whilst, at the time of writing, taking stock of what to do next. We at the BPA ourselves are also taking stock and looking at what impacts there could be on trading ports and the economy. 

We do however expect more of an impact than the remote and uninhabited Australian Antarctic territory, the Heard and McDonald Islands, which were surprisingly included in the list of countries subject to tariffs. There is speculation that the US is concerned about oil extraction in the region but had mistaken an historic assessment of the islands’ production of large quantities of elephant seal oil in the 19th Century! Interestingly Australian prime minister said yesterday that this showed that “Nowhere on Earth is safe” from US tariffs…

In terms of the BPA, as well as monitoring White House announcements we’ve continued with more online meetings, member briefing sessions and sessions with officials this week covering everything from trust port board governance, port energy usage forecasting and the Scottish Cruise Levy. Whilst the Spring sunshine has bathed Park St, some of the team have been seeing off the last of the winter bugs which sadly prevented us from supporting our friends at the UKHMA’s annual bash in Edinburgh. However, Shenaz and Zoe have been up in Humber meeting members and making preparations for our October Annual Conference. 

Meanwhile my working week started on Saturday, well sort of(!), with a quick port visit to a very busy Seaham Harbour, and thanks to the team at (the port owners) the Victoria Group for accommodating a weekend guest! I also managed to to fit in visits in to a very sunny but windy Newlyn Harbour, which was packed with fishing vessels, and Penzance Dry Dock to see major refurbishment works to Europe’s oldest such facility! 

It should be a quieter Saturday this weekend although I'm not sure if a regular dog walk I’m planning on the banks of the River Thames will count as another port visit. And with US trade developments you never know what or when further events might occur!

Richard Ballantyne

British Ports Association

US Tariffs and Impact on UK Trade, Request for Feedback

As you will have no doubt seen this week President Trump announced a series of US trade tariffs on imports from a range of countries including the UK (10% on goods), the EU (20%), China (46%), India (27%), Japan (24%) and a baseline 10% on most other countries.

These are being phased in quickly and follow a blanket 25% tariff on car imports and steel. We await to see what if any response there could be from the UK Government and are seeking views from members about any potential impacts and if customers are sharing concerns. 

The BPA’s statistics adviser Stephen Taylor of Port Centric Logistics Partners has kindly provided us with the two useful headline resources which analyse UK-US trade at a high level. These cover:

• 2023 USA export trade by volume and main UK port
• UK trade volumes with major countries

Behind the Netherlands, the US is the UK's largest trading partner and 15% of our exports that leave UK ports are destined for America. Indeed our main exports are machinery, cars and transport equipment, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, agrochemicals and a range of steel and aluminium products.

In terms of what we bring in from the US the main imports are fuels and oil related products as well as metals and electrical products as well as specialist equipment and machinery and pharmaceuticals. There is of course the possibility that the UK will respond with increased tariffs itself so we are monitoring developments.

Crown Estate launches £15m Ports Fund

This week the Crown Estate launched the second round of its Supply Chain Accelerator Fund, with £15m available for supply chains, including ports focused on port infrastructure for the offshore wind industry, as well as projects or facilities that support the manufacturing, fabrication and late-stage testing of fixed and floating offshore wind components. 

The fund will be available to ports across all locations in the UK, with 50% matched funding of between £250,000 to £1.5 million per application. You can find more details on the Crown Estate website. They will be running a series of webinars over the next few weeks to help potential applicants through the process. 

This week the Marine Accident Investigation Branch published its Interim report on the investigation of the collision between the container ship Solong and the oil/chemical tanker Stena Immaculate, 14 nautical miles north-east of Spurn Head at the entrance to the Humber Estuary. This was the accident that attracted widespread national media attention and sadly led to one fatality and a major salvage operation.

The report gives an initial summary of the factual information known, the build-up to the accident, and subsequent actions. It said that at the point of collision the Solong had been moving at “about 16 knots” whilst the Immaculate was at anchor at a location outside the “ABP Humber’s area of responsibility”. The report also states that neither the Solong nor the Stena Immaculate had a dedicated lookout on the bridge.

The investigation is ongoing, but for those interested the interim report can be found here: MIAB Interim Report

Separately, this week the MAIB published a new collection of cases in Safety Digest 1/2025 detailing accidents involving vessels from the merchant, fishing, and recreational sectors, and some within or close to port areas. This is an interesting read and the Peel Ports Group Harbour Master, and Chair of our Marine & Pilotage Group, Gary Doyle has contributed a good article on safety culture and information sharing/lessons. Separately there is a feature on dangerously weighted heaving lines and you can find the Digest here. MIAB Safety Digest

New Minimum Wage rates take effect

This week the HM Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade have today reminded employers of the new National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, which came into force from 1 April 2025. The various rates are:

• The National Living Wage (21+) increased 6.7%, from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour
• National Minimum Wage (18-20) has an increase of 16.2%, from £8.60 to £10 per hour
• National Minimum Wage (under 18) increased 18%, to £7.55 per hour
• Apprentice Rate has the largest increase of 18%, from £6.40 to £7.55 per hour
• Accommodation Offset of £10.66 per day

A number of associated guidance resources have been published today, in the form of an online manual, including details of how to calculate hourly rates, working hours for which the minimum wage must be paid, clarification on certain working practices and an employer’s check list.