The European Commission approved, pursuant to the Merger Regulation, a proposed transaction by which the British port operator P&O and the Dutch liner shipping company Royal Nedlloyd reorganize their common activities in the container liner shipping business. In 1996 Royal Nedlloyd NV and Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) transferred all their respective activities in containerized liner shipping services to a newly created joint venture called P&O Nedlloyd (PONL). The businesses transferred included all their container ships, their respective ocean freight-forwarding business, the container packing operation as well as the road haulage business and rail shuttle business.