30 January
2025
The tax would be "essentially an insurance fee for possible damage" to infrastructure on the seabed.
EU countries may introduce a tax for shipping companies for using the Baltic Sea to cover the high costs of protecting submarine cables, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said.
This is reported by the CTS with reference to Reuters.
According to him, the tax would be "essentially an insurance fee for possible damage" to infrastructure on the seabed. As an example, he cited airports that charge passengers a landing fee, which is included in the price of the ticket.
In the past few months, there have been several incidents in the Baltic Sea with damage to cables. For this reason, the NATO fleet has increased patrols in the region. Other measures to protect underwater infrastructure are also being considered: installing sensors to detect anchors dragging on the bottom and building protective structures around cables, the Estonian defense minister said.
However, he said all of these measures are expensive, and as a result, consumers will have to pay more through higher taxes or utility costs. But a shipping tax in the Baltic could help avoid that. EU countries will have to make a decision on this issue in the near future, Pevkur said.