GSF is campaigning for the reform of competition laws as applied to the container shipping sector.
Many national governments have granted container shipping lines exemptions from the prohibitions of their general competition legislation on the passing of information between competing companies. Shipping lines are permitted to exchange specified categories of information when they operate services together in a consortium. This is referred to as ‘anti-trust immunity’ or ‘block exemption’.
Shipping lines claim that these exemptions are necessary to allow ‘vessel sharing agreements’, to function efficiently where consortia members use space on each other’s ship’s to achieve better utilisation.
GSF believes the scope of ‘Block Exemptions’ are poorly defined and the type of information that can be shared is too broad and gives shipping lines unfair access to commercially-sensitive information. Vessel sharing agreements can function effectively without the need for such generous exemptions from normal competition rules.
Most Block Exemptions are issued for fixed periods (4-5 years) and their effects on the market are reviewed before renewal is considered .
GSF is supporting national shipper associations in their advocacy with their national competition authorities. The following reviews of competition law and policies for container shipping are underway:
USA
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is conducting an investigation into the practices of shipping lines serving US ports and a new Ocean Shipping Reform Act is before the House of Representatives that seeks to give greater powers to the FMC to monitor and regulate the container shipping market.
Australia
A review of shipping competition legislation in 2018 recommended revocation of existing privileges contained in Part X of the Australian Shipping Act and the introduction of more limited exemptions. The Federal Trade Minister announced a separate review of shipping services to and from Australia in September 2021
Singapore
GSF submitted written and oral evidence to the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore in March 2021 in support of its review of the Competition (Block Exemption for Liner Shipping Agreements) Order.
Hong Kong
GSF will be making a submission of evidence to the Hong Kong Competition Commission regarding the review of Competition (Block Exemption For Vessel Sharing Agreements ) Order 2017 by the requested date of 4 November 2021
South Korea
Following a series of fines imposed by the Korea Fair Trade Commission on shipping lines serving South Korea, totalling of over $610 million, members of the Korean assembly are seeking the exclusion of joint freight-fixing actions by shipping lines from the Monopoly and Fair Trade Act.
European Union
GSF joined nine other European and global organisations in a setting out a case for reform of the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation in September 2021, however the EU Commission’s Competition Directorate has so far declined to undertake any formal investigation ahead of the next review of the CBER in 2023.
