The European Shippers’ Council and the Global Shippers’ Forum have come together to voice fears over the impacts of new alliances being formed by container shipping lines and the growing use of mega ships.
The two groups said the contraction of the shipping market into small, tightly knit alliances, and the use of much larger vessels of more than 18,000 TEUs in capacity will reduce their choice of carrier and the quality of the services delivered.
This, they said, is because “carriers operating within such arrangements cannot compete amongst themselves with regard to the agreed capacity, sailing frequency, transit times, ports of call and service level.”
In a new study, titled “The Implications of Mega-Ships and Alliances for Competition and Total Supply Chain Efficiency: An Economic Perspective,” GSF offers recommendations to competition authorities and regulatory bodies to mitigate the possible implications for competition in key liner trades arising from a reduced pool of competing carriers.
The paper called on regulatory agencies to ensure sufficient independent competition on key trade routes, claiming that the emergence of alliances has produced barriers for new entrants and independent lines to compete on some trades.
Competition authorities are also urged to repeal existing exemptions from antitrust laws and implement effective monitoring of alliances, including direct intervention to preserve competition where appropriate.
They are also enjoined to liaise and align their practices and powers in this field.
GSF chairman Bob Ballantyne said: “I am delighted that ESC has joined GSF in order to promote and defend shippers’ interests at global level. GSF has made the voice of shippers heard in the UN agencies responsible for the regulation of the maritime sector and supported many of its member associations in advancing more transparent regulation of the container shipping industry in their home markets.”
ESC chairman Denis Choumert said: ” As a member of GSF, we will use our contacts and networks in Europe and elsewhere in the world to promote the report’s findings and demonstrate the value that joint working can have in advancing shippers’ interests more generally.”
Both chairmen called for shippers to “respond to these threats and opportunities in a coordinated way,” saying they hope shippers’ associations around the world will use the report in their representations to their own governments.
Photo: kees torn
