The roles or the different hats are not really that different for Frederikshavn's mayor, Birgit S. Hansen (S). She is one of the privileged mayors with two commercial ports in her municipality, along with a long coastline.
- We are used to having the water close by with a coastline of 125 km, says Birgit S. Hansen, who would like to give her perspective on the municipalities' ownership of the ports in her role as chair of KL's Environment and Utilities Committee.
KL is currently part of the port partnership, where KL's head of climate, technology and environment, Sara Røpke, is a member. By her side, she also has Chief Consultant at KL, Nete Herskind, who has previously worked at both Danish Ports and the Danish Shipowners' Association.
For Birgit S. Hansen, there is no doubt about the role of the municipalities in relation to the ports.
- We are the ones who own and operate the ports, and we have the holistic perspective, she says and elaborates:
- We have an overview of what can be done where. That is, where there are homes and where a commercial port is to be operated.
The municipalities know the news about the ports
KL is among the 15 organizations represented in the port partnership that have been a bit skeptical of the municipalities.
- We could feel that we had to convince them in the partnership, but they have now been surprised," the mayor says about a doubt that has been put to shame, she says and concludes:
- We think, in all modesty, that we are quite good at operating ports.
At first glance, it may sound like a contradiction, but ownership comes in different forms. It can be a municipally operated port, where both ownership and operation lie with the municipality. It can also be a municipal self-governing port with an appointed board, where operation lies with the port management and board. Or it can be a limited liability company. In the last two forms, the municipality only has board seats in the port's boards.
As mayor, however, she also knows the dark side, because Frederikshavn Port is one of two Danish ports that is challenged with large debts. Frederikshavn Port has a debt of 1.5 billion DKK, while the other port is Hanstholm Port, which has a debt of around 500 million DKK. But that does not mean that the municipalities are not capable of owning ports, she believes.
- You can't put your finger on Frederikshavn Port and Hanstholm Port, because we municipalities have owned those ports, but we have not run them, concludes Birgit S. Hansen and points out that Frederikshavn Municipality also owns Skagen Port, which is well run.
And one thing is clear absolutely.
- We understand that there must be a good business case, she concludes and adds:
- I am sorry that we municipalities are being judged because of a few bad examples.
Specifically, there is something that would improve the municipalities' conditions for ownership of the ports. Here, the form of ownership is crucial for the loan options.
- We would like ports that are limited companies to be able to get loans from Kommunekredit, she says.
Overall state control?
As the situation is now, the Danish ports are competing with each other for the tasks. This increases the risk of investments that ultimately do not turn out to be a good business. In many places abroad, ports are subject to overall state control, where each port is assigned a specific business area. Birgit S. Hansen believes that this is not a model for Denmark.
- It does not suit a country like Denmark with state control, the mayor confirms.
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
