THECHAMBEROFSHIPPINGANNUALREVIEW2011–2012


Passport controls November’s political storm about passport checks drew attention to the procedures for tailoring border controls to the risk profile of the passenger stream. In 2011, the new commonsense acknowledgment of the low immigration risk posed by European school groups and families had helped to avoid the excessive passport queues met by returning holidaymakers in previous summers. The Chamber has long called for passport


checks at ferry ports to be performed on the basis of risk assessment. Reports that emerged in the autumn bore out this premise. Checking eight million children in 2010 produced just one, spurious, hit; while targeting high-risk traffic increased seizures of harmful contraband. Ministers’ affirmation of risk-based controls was welcome. Unfortunately, the clamour of the debate has precluded a rational appraisal of how to handle families arriving home from holiday, pensioners’ tour parties, and other low-risk mainstays of ferry traffic. Meanwhile the e-borders programme remains


stalled in relation to ferries – the programme is still waiting for the Home Office to rethink its basic design, to make it compatible with EU law on free movement. Discussions have resumed with cruise operators, where the logistical obstacles to


CHECKING EIGHT


MILLION CHILDREN IN 2010 PRODUCED JUST ONE, SPURIOUS, HIT; WHILE TARGETING HIGH-RISK TRAFFIC INCREASED SEIZURES OF HARMFUL


CONTRABAND


capturing passport data are not insuperable; but the scheme’s value to passengers remains unclear.


Customs law In August, HM Revenue and Customs announced a review of the Customs and Excise Management Act – many of its provisions derive from the age of sail, and pre-date the Single European Market by decades. The Chamber presented a detailed submission,


highlighting the parts of the act that have been superseded by EU law or that breach it – in particular, powers to require ferries to provide information on passengers, crew and cargo, and powers to stop vehicles and examine goods at ferry ports. The Chamber has called for a new statutory framework for anti-smuggling controls, which recasts historical powers in a manner that upholds the right of free movement within the EU.


Pet travel Nearly 12 years after the Pet Travel Scheme first replaced quarantine for dogs and cats arriving from the continent, its rules were eased again at the start of 2012. Even more welcome, however, was a last- minute agreement that pet travel across the Irish Sea would remain control-free.


SECTOR PANELS 29 Employment 29


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