Fairway dues to be raised

Fairway dues will be again collected in full from 2025 onwards. They were halved in 2015 under temporary legislation.

On 23 September 2024, the Government submitted a proposal on amending the Act on Fairway Dues and on repealing the temporary fairway dues legislation. The proposal includes raises to the unit prices and maximum amounts of the fairway due.  The criteria for determining the dues are not to be changed in other respects.

The legislative amendments are related to the balancing of general government finances. In line with the decision made in the spending limits discussion of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government on 16 April 2024, the temporary halving of fairway dues will end on 31 December 2024.

The Government will monitor revenue from fairway dues in the future and assess the need to change the price list and its details.

Fairway dues are payable to the state for merchant ships in Finnish territorial waters when they arrive in a Finnish port from abroad or from another Finnish port.

Fairway dues are collected by Customs.

Minister Ranne: Fairway dues in transit traffic from Russia to be examined separately

In connection with legislative drafting, the question of reductions in fairway dues for transit traffic from Russia has arisen. 

“The actual effect of these reductions has diminished now that traffic volumes from Russia have decreased. However, it is necessary to examine and plan the timetable for eliminating the reductions. A separate report on this will be drawn up as soon as possible, as it was not possible to complete the matter within the timetable set for the process of amending the Act on Fairway Dues,” says Minister of Transport, and the Interior Lulu Ranne.

What’s next?

A referral debate will be held on the proposal now submitted by the Government to Parliament. The timetable for the debate will be listed on Parliament’s website (upcoming plenary sessions).

After the referral debate, the proposal will be taken to a parliamentary committee. Once the committee’s report is ready, the matter will be discussed in a plenary session.

Inquiries:

Juha Tervonen, Chief Specialist, tel.  +358 29 534 2070 [email protected]