David Fethers, Managing Director Australia and Papua New Guinea, Smit Lamnalco, writes:
2020 marked almost 30 years since the provision of harbour towage at the ports of Melbourne, Sydney (Port Botany and Port Jackson), Newcastle, Brisbane, Fremantle and Adelaide first commenced as a ‘declared’ service under the Prices Surveillance Act 1983.
The declaration was made to address concerns over the lack of competition in the provision of harbour towage.
Eleven years later, in 2002, the Productivity Commission again looked at whether harbour towage should continue as a declared service. The Commission found “in nearly all Australian ports, there is only one provider of towage services”.
In the present day, several port operators have implemented an exclusive licensing regime.
