Red Ensign flies on Merchant Navy Day

DfT media release
3 September

The Red Ensign will fly over the headquarters of the Department for Transport today to mark the UK's ninth Merchant Navy Day.

Shipping Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said:

"Shipping is vital to our nation - we rely on it for the majority of our foreign trade. Merchant Navy Day provides an opportunity both to honour the memory of the merchant seamen of the past and to look forward to a brighter future for British shipping and seafarers.

"Today, the British merchant fleet and our shipping industry is in better shape than it has been for many years, but we must not forget the sacrfices of the past. Merchant seamen kept us supplied during the two World Wars and more than 20,000 of them lost their lives during the Second World War alone.

"The Government is working hard to improve shipping and I'm proud of the increase that we have seen in the number of ships on the UK Ship Register and in UK tonnage, which has been achieved without compromising standards."

In recent years Britain has brought in a tonnage tax to enable British shipping to be more internationally competitive as well as introducing customer-focused reforms at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and supporting the 'Sea Vision UK' campaign aimed at promoting the UK's maritime sector to the public

Notes to editors

1. The Red Ensign will today fly over the headquarters of the Department for Transport - Great Minster House in Marsham Street, London SW1.
2. The decision to hold a Merchant Navy Day was announced by former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in September 1999. The purpose was to raise the profile of British shipping as a career option and to increase the number of British seafarers.
3. The Government is achieving its policy of attracting ships to the UK flag. Since 1997 the UK registered fleet of sizeable trading vessels (500 gross tons and over) has increased from 2,381,000 to 13,565,000 deadweight tonnes, an increase of 469.72 per cent.
4. The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) have been appointing Customer Service Managers to assist with enquiries throughout the registration process. This - and removing excess regulation - has made the UK flag more attractive.
5. The tonnage tax was introduced in the Finance Act 2000. Shipping companies can opt into tonnage tax, or stay in the current corporate tax regime. Tonnage tax applies normal corporation tax to notional profits determined by the tonnage of the ships operated. It brings certainty and clarity about tax liabilities and is used by a number of other EEA countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Greece and Norway. The tonnage tax is enabling British shipping to be more internationally competitive.
6. A feature of the UK tonnage tax is the minimum training obligation. This normally requires each shipping company in the tax to recruit and train one officer trainee each year for every 15 officer posts in its fleet, and to give consideration to employment and training opportunities for ratings.
7. Sea Vision UK is the public awareness campaign to promote the UK's wider maritime sector to the general public. It was launched to the maritime sector at the Chamber of Shipping in October 2002 and this was followed by a public launch at the London Boat Show on 2 January 2003. The campaign aims to revitalize interest and understanding of the importance of the sea and the maritime sector and specifically to target awareness among the young.

Department for Transport Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk