The Commission has provided new and detailed guidance on State Aid granted to ship management companies. These rules complement the 2004 guidelines on State Aid to maritime transport.

According to the Commission, under the new guidance, tonnage tax may be applied to all ship managers, as long as they contribute to the development of the European maritime cluster and, more importantly, that they make a commitment to implement the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 ahead of its entry into force. Prior to the adoption of the new guidance, only ship managers providing jointly technical and crew management for the same ship were eligible to a tonnage tax scheme.