# Loodswezen pilotage cost method approved for 2028 to 2032

> The Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has approved the method the Dutch pilotage service uses to work out the costs behind its regulated tariffs. The allocation is unchanged from the current period.

Economy · published 2026-11-15 05:33 · https://nlnow.nl/a/regulator-approves-pilotage-cost-system-for-2028-to-2032/

The ACM has ruled that the cost allocation system (kostentoerekeningssysteem, KTS) the Loodswezen, the Dutch pilotage service, wants to apply from 2028 to 2032 meets the legal requirements. The regulator has therefore approved it.

The system sets out how the costs of the Loodswezen's regulated activities are worked out and allocated to seaport areas. The regulated tariffs are then set from those allocated costs. They may not exceed the allocated costs, including a fair return, the ACM said.

The KTS 2028-2032 replaces the current system, which the Loodswezen has applied from 2023 to 2027. The ACM found the cost allocation entirely unchanged from the 2023-2027 version.

The Loodswezen's updated document does contain some changes, but the ACM said they are editorial changes or clarifications.

The regulator has published its decision, with the system itself as an annex.

The ACM also approved the current system, for 2023 to 2027, in an earlier decision. The new decision assesses only whether the system for the coming period meets the legal rules.

With the allocation unchanged, the costs of the Loodswezen's regulated activities will continue to be assigned to seaport areas by the same method as in 2023-2027. The tariffs built on those costs stay capped at the allocated costs plus a fair return.

## Background

- **ACM (Autoriteit Consument & Markt)**: The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, the independent regulator that enforces competition law and consumer protection rules. It also regulates sectors such as energy, telecoms, transport and postal services.
- **Loodswezen**: The Loodswezen is the Dutch pilotage service, the organisation that provides maritime pilots (loodsen) who guide ships through Dutch coastal, port and inland waters. Its pilotage services are mandatory for many vessels, and its costs are recovered through charges that the regulator ACM oversees. The name is used as is, since it is the official name of the organisation.

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