FMC OKs Shipping Companies' THE Alliance
The proposed THE Alliance will become effective Dec. 19 as a result of the Federal Maritime Commission's completed review, the FMC said in news release (here). "The Commission voted to allow the agreement to become effective following a period of…
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substantive and constructive discussion with the parties," it said. The agency will allow the alliance to proceed despite some objections submitted by the Justice Department over anti-competitive concerns (see 1611280024). "I am very cognizant of the concerns industry stakeholders had regarding provisions in this agreement, particularly those related to information sharing and joint procurement," FMC Chairman Mario Cordero said. "This office will continue to carefully focus on the impacts of the carrier alliance restructuring that is taking place in the shipping industry. Considerable review and analysis goes into assessing a final agreement before it is allowed to go into force. Five container shipping companies -- Hapag-Lloyd, K Line, MOL, NYK and Yang Ming -- make up THE Alliance. "Under the terms of the agreement, THE Alliance members are permitted to share vessels, charter and exchange space on each other’s ships, and enter into cooperative working arrangements," the FMC said. The DOJ didn't comment.