High seas fleet will cost a further 130 million Swiss francs

fleet, The debacle of the Swiss deep-sea getting more and more expensive. On Wednesday, the Federal Council adopted a new supplementary credit, how he communicates. This time the Parliament should approve of 129 million Swiss francs in order to pay joint and several guarantees of the Federal government for eight broke ships. Already in 2017, the Confederation had to pay 215 million Swiss francs for 13 under-funded deep-sea vessels.

As the ongoing sale of vessel income are expected to be allocated to the Federal-to-date with a total damage of around 300 million Swiss francs for the taxpayer. However, this is only a preliminary result: The Federal government is still sitting on guarantees in the amount of 374 million Swiss francs for 20 ships. How high is the risk for more Nachkredite is currently difficult to estimate.

sale of the ships runs

How did it come about? Since the Second world war, the Federal government and private entrepreneurs, helped ships in the purchase of freight, he guaranteed their loans. The idea is that In a political or economic crisis, the Federal government would have been able to use the Swiss-flagged ships to the national economic supply. However, instead of a supply crisis, in the last ten years of a severe bear market in the Maritime Transport. Overcapacity, reduced trading volume and falling prices led to shipping companies and ship-owners were anywhere in the world into a tailspin.

After the Federal government in 2017 had to stand for the outstanding debt of the Zurich-based shipping group SCL/SCT, it must now take the Freiburg-based ship owner of mass marine, the liabilities of the Federal government. The company is a subsidiary of the Geneva Massoel-shipping company, which was founded in 1982 by the owner Giorgio Sulser. She has most recently operated around a dozen bulk carriers, eight of them under the Swiss flag. These ships are currently being sold in a fire sale.

The Federal Council adopted the message on the case of mass Mariner raises questions on crisis management, the Minister of economy Johann Schneider-Ammann and Guy Parmelin: So, the economy has allowed the Department of mass marine group as of the end of 2015, about 25 million Swiss francs as a loan, already repaid to the banks. As a result, the shipping company was able to turn away temporarily a bankruptcy, but also increased the financial risk for the Federal government.

Ramshackle fleet under Swiss flag

In the message to Parliament, the Federal Council also writes that the Massoel group had been accompanied with the duration of the crisis, more and more closely, and the Federal government tried to pass new requirements to reduce the risks. Nevertheless, have increased from the beginning of 2019 operational problems on the Massoel-ships. There were several Arrest of balancing of cargo ships, which are extremely costly. In addition, the payment of wages to the crew of the ships increased. Although the economy is impacting the Department with great effort and an army of external experts on the Massoel group, not got to grips with the problems.

this was How precarious the Situation on the ships sometimes, shows an incident in August 2018, which is not mentioned in the message of the Federal Council at the Time, the port authorities found of Belfast, the MV Glarus, the oldest freighters in the fleet, in a state of disrepair. Damaged ropes, insufficient fastening device, faulty fire protection: Due to safety concerns, the port authorities refused to allow the ship to the exit.

the difficulties of The Massoel-group employees, but only the Department of Economic Affairs. Because the Massoel group came repeatedly against their statutory duties, turned on the Department of foreign Affairs (FDFA). The EDA is responsible for the supervision of sea-going ships under the Swiss flag. It is, among other things, safety inspections of the ships ordered, and filed a complaint for the unpaid wages for the teams.

Created: 07.11.2019, 18:45 PM