|
THE
World Shipping Council (WSC), the European
Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA)
and the International Chamber of Shipping
and ICS, have welcomed the EU's extension
of consortium exemption for another five
years until April 2020.
The
move comes as consortia regulation No 906/2009
is to expire in April 2015.
The
Global Shippers' Forum (GSF), on the other
hand, is calling for a repeal of the European
block exemption that allows greater scope
for operational alliances in which the ships
are run in united ship management system,
but function independently in sales and
customer service.
According
to the shipowners, legal certainty means
that consortia arrangements, or amendments
to those arrangements (including terminating
those arrangements and entering into different
ones), can be evaluated solely on operational
merits.
European
competition authorities have favoured consortia
that share vessels to reduce costs rather
than joint pricing, unlike conferences which
set freight rates together.
Besides,
shipper groups have argued that the block
exemption for liner shipping due to expire
in 2015 is no longer relevant because of
the size of mega alliances like the P3 which
fall outside of normal competition laws.
The
GSF, which incorporated itself to become
closer to intergovernmental bodies such
as UN agencies, has been in conflict with
the European Shippers Council (ESC) and
the Asia Shippers Council (ASC) over container
weigh-ins. The ASC quit the GSF more than
a year ago because it said the body would
have diluted its vote by allowing in smaller
regional councils.
The
GSF said in a statement that its recommendation
to the European Commission (EC) was meant
"to ensure that there will no longer
be any special treatment of the maritime
sector under EU competition law" to
allow the maritime industry to be treated
the same as other sectors.
At
present, a liner shipping consortium has
a block exemption from European Union competition
laws provided its market share is less than
35 per cent. A larger alliance is not necessarily
unlawful, but members must conduct a self-assessment
to ensure there is no abuse of its dominant
position.
Said
GSF secretary general Chris Welsh: "As
it is now well established what the acceptable
parameters of consortia agreements should
be, there is no longer any obvious need
for a BER 'safe harbour' as self-assessment
is quite sufficient for standard consortia
agreements."
Accordingly,
the GSF said the merits of standard consortia
agreements will continue to exist in the
absence of any block exemption regulation
since self-assessment arrangements under
the Horizontal Competition Guidelines will
cover good agreements that genuinely confer
benefits to shippers through reduced costs,
lower rates and extended and enhanced services.
Both
the proposed P3 Alliance between Maersk,
CMA GM and MSC and the expanded G6 alliance
would exceed the 35 per cent limit on key
trade lanes.
"GSF
strongly believes that the P3 Global Alliance
Agreement shows that carriers do not need
the consortia block exemption to plan their
cooperation," said Mr Welsh.
Some
lawyers, who argue that the rules should
be renewed, have demanded that the 35 per
cent threshold be increased to bring it
into line with other jurisdictions where
up to 50 per cent market share is permitted.
Moreover,
the shipowner groups agree with Brussels
that the rules "have not substantially
changed" and modifications have been
made to the rules of consortia.
Any
changes to this legal framework should be
avoided to prevent compliance costs to operators
in the industry, said the EC, reported Lloyd's
List.
Improvements
in consortia are found in productivity and
"frequency of sailings and port calls,
or an improvement in scheduling as well
as better quality and personalised services
through the use of more modern vessels and
other equipment, including port facilities,"
said the EC.
The
WSC, ESCA and ICS agree that the basis of
the consortia block exemption since 1995
has remained largely unchanged with no regulatory
barriers to carriers entering the market.
But
issues of overcapacity causing high capital
and operating costs have made it very challenging
for vessel operators in a highly competitive
environment, but "a favourable one
for the European importers and exporters
that use the services of those vessel operators."
|
