EU Accepts Antitrust Concessions from Maersk, MSC, Others

EU antitrust regulators accepted on Thursday an offer from Maersk, the world's largest container shipping liner, and 13 other competitors to change their pricing practices.

The companies agreed to publish binding actual rates 31 days before they go into effect, with the figures acting as a price ceiling. Under the current system, they only publish the amount of the increase, not the final price.

The other 13 firms are No.2 player MSC, No. 3 CMA CGM, Germany's Hapag Lloyd and Hamburg Sud, Taiwan's Evergreen Marine, China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) , OOCL (Orient Overseas Container Line), South Korean firms Hanjin and Hyundai Merchant Marine, Japan's Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and Nippon Yusen Kaisha , United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) and Israeli company Zim.

Reuters reported on June 28 that the Commission would accept the offer.


(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek)