Ministry of Transport of Thailand has appointed a National Committee to conduct study, and work out framework, for establishing a National Shipping Line, during a special meeting on Jun 30. national tonnage accounts for just 9% of total nation’s freight, with 91% being transported by foreign ships and companies. Some 1.33 billion Baht freight costs go elsewhere but not to Thailand.
According to plan, all the required studies and framework should be carried out in 1 year. Working group is already appointed, to prepare, soonest possible, the establishment of National Maritime Company, embracing all legal issues. Working group with Deputy Minister of Transport as Chairman, is tasked also, with working out guidelines for Company’s formation.
Transport Policy Division of Ministry of Transport is to establish sub-committees to study: other nations’ experience in creating and running national carrier companies; foreign investments benefits and ways to attract investors; the optimal ways to operate the company, based on public and private stakeholders partnership.
Comment:
There’s no doubt, that the main or the only factor, which triggered this move, is the nation’s supply chains security. Nations can’t depend any longer on absolutely unreliable and unpredictable major multinational carriers, and on their ruinous for economies, dictatorial freight rates practices. National carriers freight rates won’t be anywhere near as exorbitant as those imposed by shipping majors (assisted by intl maritime bodies), and even more importantly, national carriers will be predictable and reliable. Dictatorship of several giant corporations is based on monopoly and international maritime legislation, made specifically favorable for monopolies by another plague of shipping industry, which is international maritime bodies, starting with IMO.
Any national run by sensible, responsible, government, should do the same – should incentivize, promote and support national shipping companies, in order to remain sovereign and independent.
On the other hand, there’s some doubt with regards to Thailand determination and ability, ample enough to establish national carrier or carriers. It’s not just the attempt to secure nation’s logistic chains, it’s more than that, it’s something of a revolt against globalist agenda, which supports monopolism, and strongly opposes nations’ sovereignty.
It’s my personal observation or assessment, based on “fighting pandemic” recent Thailand experience – situation with “pandemic” spins out of control with thousands of “infected” found every passing day, with only criteria being PCR test, an absolutely unreliable and false instrument.
I’ve got an impression, that so-called “medics” who’re “fighting the pandemic”, got so drunk with power over public, power they didn’t ever experience before, that they lost all senses of responsibility, honesty and medical ethics.
To establish national shipping line, government will have to, first of all, take control over situation in general, and curb, somehow, uncontrollable “medics” and “pandemic fight”.
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https://www.maritimebulletin.net/2021/07/01/thailand-set-to-establish-national-shipping-line-in-one-year/
