Press release

Today, the European Commission published guidelines that explain to the liner shipping sector the principles of competition law under which they must act when the liner conference system ends at midnight on the 17th October 2008.

Overall, ESC supports the guidelines because it believes the carriers need some things spelled out about the law. In particular the guidelines reflect on information exchanges, on which the liner shipping industry is seeking to develop and use in place of the conferences to help it make decisions about capacity deployment and investment. These guidelines are intended to assist providers of liner shipping services in assessing when such exchanges breach the competition rules.

There are numerous references throughout the document that urge caution among carriers over any activities that could be construed as reducing or removing “the degree of uncertainty as to the operation of the market in question with the result that competition between undertakings is restricted.” Equally there are very obvious warnings about discussions on information among the carriers and data that would or again could be construed as reducing the opportunity for individual carriers to make autonomous policy over its business strategy and activities.

ESC Secretary General Nicolette van der Jagt said: “Essentially the guidelines are consistent with what has been said before: if an exchange of information is assessed to reduce competition by reducing autonomous policy decisions by undertakings, by revealing actions or intentions of competitors, this is not allowed.”

She added: “This is going to be a challenge for industry; carriers, who are part of the European Liner Affairs Association’s (ELAA) data exchange system and intent to have discussions on the data in their future trade association, have to carefully assess their own behaviour. Some of this makes it clear that carriers will be walking on very thin legal ice.”

ESC will closely monitor exchanges of information developed by the liner shipping sector for compliance with EU competition law and their impact on liner trades elsewhere.

ESC is looking forward to a liberalized market where carriers will be allowed to operate freely and determine their individual market strategies.

For further information contact: Nicolette van der Jagt, Secretary General of the ESC - Brussels 00 322 230 2113