by Graham Tutthill

gtutthill@thekmgroup.co.uk

Port of Dover chief executive Bob Goldfield has denied that the increased tariffs paid by ferry companies are being used to make Dover Harbour Board more attractive for sale.

Mr Goldfield, giving evidence on the first day of the public inquiry, said privatisation was not a relevant consideration in tariff setting or for the inquiry.

Tom Hill QC, for Dover Harbour Board, said the ferry operators had alleged that the increased tariffs were “fattening up” the board ready for privatisation.

“This is denied,” said Mr Goldfield. “They (the tariffs) are a proper charge.”
Mr Goldfield said that some of the £60 million cash surplus might be used to plug the hole in the pension fund.

Fergus Randolph QC, for the ferry operators, asked Mr Goldfield if that was a proper use of the money and how filling the pension deficit fell into improving the port facilities.

Mr Goldfield said: “As part of running the business, the board runs a pension scheme and one looks at a whole range of costs when setting the tariffs.”

Mr Randolph: “I put it to you that is not what the tariffs are for. They are for administering, maintaining and improving facilities, not for running the business.”

Mr Goldfield: “You have to have a structure for administering the business.

“We have to make sure we have enough resources and profit to meet our obligations to our stakeholders for the reasonable future.”

Asked whether the increases were an abuse of the port’s dominant position, Mr Goldfield said he was not sure he accepted that Dover was in a dominant position.

He said the ferry companies had the option of operating services to France or Belgium from other ports, ranging from Newhaven to the Thames, East Anglia and even the north of England.

The inquiry continues.

Full story in this week's Dover Mercury.