In early February, Royal Arctic Line introduced structural freight rate changes that have resulted in price increases for export cargo but maintained prices for import cargo and cargo within Greenland unchanged for the 8th consecutive year. A temperature-controlled container continues to be shipped out of Greenland at less than half the price of importing a temperature-controlled container into Greenland.
Sermitsiaq.AG has this week reported on Canadian vessels reconsidering whether to land their catch in Greenland, now that they have to pay more in freight for onward transportation from Greenland. This is a business consideration that has to be weighed against the distance to an alternative port of landing (e.g. St. John’s, which is over 900 nautical miles from Nuuk), the time spent on transportation (3-4 days from Nuuk to St. John’s and thus lost fishing days), as well as fuel costs and finally the cost of shipping from e.g. St. John’s.
Royal Arctic Line does not expect that this will lead to Canadian vessels opting out of Greenland, but this is something the Canadian vessels must assess, based on the above factors. In this regard, it is Royal Arctic Line’s task to run a sound business where customers pay for the services they use, which is the reason for the structural change.
The alternative to re-regulating the export discount is for Greenlandic consumers to pay for Canadian vessels to land their catch in Greenland and transport it cheaply to their destination.
