• 2009 October 27 07:09

    Brussels says no plans to ease liner antitrust rules

    Calls from some shipowners for a temporary respite from Europe’s strict competition rules during the current crisis are being brushed aside by Brussels.
    Senior European Commission officials are making it clear that there are no plans whatsoever to bring back conferences in any form, despite pleas from several industry leaders in recent weeks.
    That position was re-stated by Hubert de Broca, deputy head of the Competition Directorate’s antitrust unit covering transport and post, in response to claims that abolition of the conference system in Europe had compounded the dreadful market conditions experienced over the past year.
    “DG Competition is not considering the possibility of restoring the bloc exemption for conferences,” Mr de Broca told the European Maritime Law Organisation’s annual conference.
    Rate-setting conferences lost their immunity from European Union competition law in October 2008, just as the container trades were heading into the deepest recession ever experienced. Freight rates plunged, with lines no longer having the legal freedom to take collective action in an effort to force them back up.
    Most lines believe that conferences would have been powerless to withstand market pressures as demand collapsed, but CMA CGM chairman Jacques Saadé broke ranks last month to describe European maritime regulation as “penalising, irrational and unjustified”, and accuse Brussels of handicapping European lines in the global market.
    Tung Chee-chen, head of Orient Overseas (International) Ltd, which owns container line OOCL, has also said that the price war that devastated the liner trades earlier in the year could have been averted if conferences still existed in Europe. He urged Brussels to show some leniency so that the whole industry could work together to manage capacity.
    “Our belief is that the existing platforms for discussion of industry issues should be extended further,” Mr Tung wrote in a recent essay. “While the industry is suffering to such a drastic extent, our goal should be to work with governments to provide our industry with the ability to collectively discuss capacity management and rationalisation, for a period of, say, one year.”
    But antitrust regulators in Brussels see no merit in the conference system that was finally outlawed in Europe 12 months ago after years of resistance from the liner shipping industry.
    Far from having second thoughts about whether the ban was right, the commission is urging other jurisdictions to follow suit.
    Crisis conditions are not regarded by Brussels as justification for any sort of cartel, a view stated repeatedly by competition commissioner Neelie Kroes who advocates zero tolerance towards anti-competitive practices.
    Separately, Mr de Broca assured liner shipping companies that no decision had been taken as to whether the bloc exemption for consortia would be extended beyond 2015. A new five year regulation covering shipping consortia will come into effect next April, and there had been speculation that this may be the last.
    But having only just completed a lengthy review before publishing the final text of Regulation 906/2009 late last month, Mr de Broca said it was far too soon to say what may happen beyond 2015.

2024 September 27

18:05 PETRONAS and Mitsubishi Corporation sign new LNG agreements
17:21 Spliethoff orders the construction of a new series of eight multi-purpose vessels from Wuhu Shipyard
16:47 Ports of Singapore and Hamburg sign a Letter of Intent
16:28 MSC Group establishes a new container terminal at Denmark's largest commercial port
16:10 Centus Marine selects AIRCAT vessels and Strategic Marine for next generation personnel transfer vessel
15:56 Wolverine Terminals starts commercial operations at Prince Rupert marine bunkering facility
15:24 Incat reaches construction milestone on world’s largest electric ferry
14:45 MOL sets a mid-to-long-term target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
14:24 ABS approves liquefied hydrogen carrier design from Samsung Heavy Industries
13:44 Fincantieri launches the second LNG cruise ship for Princess Cruises
12:58 HD Korea Shipbuilding wins US$511.3 million order for 4 container ships
11:50 Wallenius Wilhelmsen upsizes 4 of the vessels on order to largest in the world
11:09 China to start up Guangdong LNG terminal, ExxonMobil has 20-yr access
10:30 Belgium calls for EU ban on Russian gas as imports rise - Financial Times
10:00 ESPO and FEPORT call for an EU wide mandatory tax exemption for onshore power supply
09:16 Euronav sells two Suezmaxes to a wholly owned subsidiary of CMB NV

2024 September 26

18:03 Eni publishes its first Methane Report
17:35 Port of Barcelona container traffic increases by 22% in the first 8 months of the year
17:34 MABUX: Bunker price trends in the world's four largest hubs, Sept 23-27
17:23 TECO 2030 announces strategic shift to global fuel cell technology provider
17:14 CMB.TECH signs strategic agreement with Beihai Shipbuilding
16:45 Ports of Hamburg, Busan and Ulsan sign a joint declaration of intent
16:24 Damen to deliver two fully electric ferries to City of Toronto
15:59 Shell and TenneT sign an agreement for the large-scale hydrogen plant on the high-voltage grid in the Port of Rotterdam
15:24 Northern Lights is ready to receive CO2
14:41 MSC amplifies UN global compact call for IMO fit-for-purpose regulatory framework to accelerate use of net-zero fuels
14:23 MOL introduces an application for performance degradation tracking 'Fouling Analysis'
13:40 MAN PrimeServ signs cooperation agreement with Latsco Marine Management
13:13 Port of Oakland container volume up 5.4% in Aug 2024
12:48 H-LINE Shipping takes delivery of a 7,000 CEU LNG dual-fuel PCTC
12:08 Yangzijiang Shipbuilding delivers first batch of eco-friendly dual-fuel methanol containerships to X-Press Feeders
11:54 Jawar Al Khaleej L.L.C. takes delivery of three Damen Search and Rescue vessels
11:20 Technip Energies and JGC Corporation awarded FEED contract by ExxonMobil for the Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique
10:41 Panama Canal launches revamped maritime services tariffs section
10:22 ADSB delivers pair of RAmparts 2800-SD vessels to ADNOC
09:59 MITSUI OCEAN CRUISES welcomes new ship MITSUI OCEAN FUJI in handover ceremony with Seabourn Cruise Line

2024 September 25

18:00 Ingalls Shipbuilding receives a $9.6 bln contract to procure multiple ships, including three San Antonio-class amphibious assault ships
17:38 The Port of Oslo has officially opened its new shore power plant for cruise ships
17:11 John T Essberger orders two 13,000 dwt, ice class 1A chemical tankers from Nantong Rainbow Offshore & Engineering Equipment
16:45 Ningbo-Zhoushan port to add 2 million TEU in container capacity
16:13 Hanwha Ocean drops talks to acquire Australian shipbuilder Austal
15:36 Hyundai Glovis, China's BYD sign MOU for logistics partnership
15:24 Wallenius Marine christens vessel Future Way in German port of Emden
14:58 Asyad Group, OQ Alternative Energy, and Sumitomo Corporation announced a joint study agreement to explore the potential of Oman as a global low-carbon fuel bunkering hub
13:50 CLdN places order for 10 newbuild container carriers
13:22 Purus orders two 45,000 cbm dual fuel ammonia-ready medium-sized gas carriers from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard
12:47 HD Korea Shipbuilding wins 403.9 bln won order for 6 container ships
12:05 Victoria International Container Terminal hits 5 million TEUs
11:43 Damen signs with WUZ Port and Maritime for ASD Tug 2111
11:20 Fincantieri starts works on the first next-generation Offshore Patrol Vessel for the Italian Navy
10:43 Lloyd's Register, RINA, DNV, Bureau Veritas and ABS join forces to form Yacht Safety and Environmental Consortium
10:25 Fincantieri, Vard and Sandock Austral Shipyards form collaboration centred around Afrika Offshore Patrol Vessel
09:48 GTT receives an order from HD Hyundai Samho Co. for the tank design of four new LNG carriers

2024 September 24

18:00 PowerCell signs SEK 165m order for fuel cell systems with leading Italian marine OEM manufacturer
17:01 TankMatch and Evos team up to launch green methanol bunkering solutions
16:45 MOL announces naming ceremony for new LNG-fuel car carrier “CELESTE ACE”
16:24 Navig8 takes delivery of fourth and fifth MR newbuild vessels from New Times Shipbuilding
15:53 Canadian Coastguard orders MAN 32/44CR propulsion packages for two Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships
15:23 AD Ports records a 30 percent increase in vehicle volumes through Autoterminal Khalifa Port in H1 2024
14:43 HELCOM launches shipping data platform
14:23 The Port of Tallinn signs MoU with the U.S. company Protio for the production of e-fuels at Muuga Harbour
13:42 TotalEnergies to supply 200,000 tons per year of LNG to HD Hyundai Chemical until 2033
13:21 Shenzhen and Long Beach ports sign green framework
12:50 LR and Samsung Heavy Industries sign JDP for AiP for an ammonia-fuelled 9,300 TEU container vessel
12:11 Wartsila to future-proof container vessels with CCS-Ready scrubber technology
11:40 Lloyd's Register has granted Samsung Heavy Industries AiP for the construction of a next-generation 174,000 cubic metre LNG carrier
11:02 Hanwha Ocean partners with ABS to co-develop offshore solutions
10:41 Royal Huisman commissions world’s largest sportfish yacht 'Special One'
10:15 ABS approves new autonomous technologies from HD Hyundai for ammonia-fueled ships
09:46 HD Hyundai to supply shaft generator for Middle Eastern firm