23 September, 2022 by Juan Carlos Díaz Lorenzo

Utor Claims the Strategic Nature of the Spanish Shipping Industry

The president and "sole shareholder" of Balearia, Adolfo Utor, took advantage of his speech upon joining the Royal Academy of the Sea to assert the strategic nature of the shipping sector. Utor called on the State for "a decisive commitment in this regard, with the adoption of necessary measures so that Spanish shipping companies can compete on equal terms with those from the rest of the European Union."

The president of Balearia made it clear that "this is not about the State granting aid from outdated perspectives, but rather that public policies align with those of European partners." He believes that the opposite "is lethal for the Spanish shipping sector, which competes with European shipping companies that benefit from public policies driven by administrations that do have a global vision of the sector."

In front of the main actors in the Spanish maritime sector, Utor reminded that the European maritime sector is the main power at a global level, as "the EU does grant maritime activity the strategic consideration" that he claims for Spain. In fact, a third of the ships that make global trade possible belong to European shipping companies, including the three main container transport companies.

Utor contrasted the strength of Italian, French, and German shipping companies with the reality of the Spanish shipping sector, which "occupies the tail end of Europe, despite its geographical situation and being the second country in Europe in maritime interconnectivity."

According to the president of Balearia, Spanish public interest traffic "could, in the medium term, be operated mostly by foreign-owned shipping companies, if not directly foreign ones." This would be a consequence of the weakness of the Spanish maritime sector due to successive administrations lacking a strategic vision towards this sector.

As an example of the grievance faced by the Spanish shipping sector, Utor referred to the Tax Lease, which allows shipowners to obtain tax benefits for ship construction and thus improve their competitiveness.

The president of the shipping company explained that the application of the Tax Lease in France requires the shipowner to be French, regardless of where the ship is built, while in Spain there is no such nationality obligation to benefit from tax advantages, and moreover, the ship must be built in Spain.

Foreign shipowners can benefit from this system, as well as obtain state guarantees for export, while a Spanish shipowner loses the right to the tax benefit if they do not build in Spain, nor do they have the right to export guarantees. "The European tax regime designed to favor the development of European shipping companies is used in Spain to improve the competitiveness of shipyards," Utor pointed out.

The president of Balearia emphasized the importance of the ro-pax model as a driver of economic progress, as an efficient network of maritime communications combining passengers and goods decisively contributes to the progress and development of territories. Finally, Utor praised the competitiveness of the Spanish port system in contrast to the weakness of the national shipping sector.

Adolfo Utor's admission speech was responded to by the academic Eduardo Albors, president of the Spanish Association of Maritime Law, who reviewed some relevant moments in Utor's biography, as well as the process of establishing Balearia, and his strong commitment to new technologies and environmental protection.

Albors concluded by congratulating himself on the "fortunate event" that Utor's incorporation as a full academic member of the Royal Academy of the Sea represents.