17 Shipping Firms Face Sanctions for Alleged Price Fixing

Seventeen container shipping companies are facing sanctions due to alleged price fixing activities in the period from 2009 to 2013 between Peru’s Callao port and Asia, the Peruvian standards development organization Indecopi informs.

If the allegations are confirmed, each company could receive a fine amounting to 12 percent of its parent company’s annual earnings, Reuters cited an official from the organization.

The investigation includes American President Lines (APL) owned by Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), French CMA CGM, German-based Hapag-Lloyd, Danish Maersk Line, Swiss Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), and Japanese Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line).

Other companies being looked into are Compania Marítima Chilena S.A. (CMC), Chilean Compania Sudamericana de Vapores (CSAV), and Hamburg Suedamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft KG.

The organization said that the investigation is based on collected evidence from inspections, mostly in the form of business emails and minutes from meetings which point to the activities going on during the period of at least four years.

Reuters added that the companies now have thirty days to submit evidence that would dismiss them of the allegations.

World Maritime News Staff