Conference demise in SA awaits Competition Commission finding

ALAN PEAT
THE END of shipping line conferences in the European Union (EU) is set for October 2008, which is when the European Community (EC) council is to revoke Regulation 4056/86 and effectively abolish them. But guidelines on what will replace them are still in the boiling pot. And there is a certain degree of suspicion amongst local shippers that the outcome of the latest European discussions may decide the findings of the SA Competition Commission – which is currently sitting in judgment on an application by the SA Shippers’ Council (SASC) for a similar abolition in this country. The EC competition authority’s ruling on the AP Møller takeover of P&O Nedlloyd was the steering oar for the local decision by the commission, and could equally pilot SA into its own post-conference restrictions on shipping line agreement groups. The European Liner Affairs Association (ELAA), meantime, has welcomed the release by the EC of a consultative document on the structure of the regime to replace the liner conference system. This, reported the Shipping Gazette, followed the EC directorate general of competition publishing an Issues Paper (IP) - designed, said the directorate, to lead to legal guidelines on how carriers may act after October 2008. The ELAA has greeted the inclusion of the shipping industry in the current debate about the regime to be defined by the guidelines with satisfaction – but expressed disappointment about certain conditions in the IP restricting inter-line agreements. In a statement, Chris Bourne, ELAA executive director, said: “In the IP the DG Comp expresses difficulty with our proposals in the important areas of supply forecasting and carriers meeting among themselves. “We believe that accurate supply forecasts are essential to ensure sufficient capacity is provided on a trade. We also need to talk about trades amongst ourselves, and with shipper bodies, in order to improve our understanding of the dynamics so that we can serve our customers’ needs.”