Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company confirm the start of VSA 2M 2015 in January



Since the United States were the last remaining jurisdiction in which the Vessels Sharing Agreement called 2M agreed from groups Maersk and MSC it had to obtain the approval, with the green light reached from the Federal Maritime Commission now Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company they can put into effect the agreement of VSA as programmed. It has emphasized today the same Danish shipowning company confirming implicitly that such type of agreement does not demand the approval of the Chinese authorities, than last june had rejected the P3 agreement Network proposed from the Danish Maersk Line and Swiss MSC with the French CMA CGM. In China, in fact the Vessel Sharing Agreementi, that is the agreements between companies of navigation for sharing of cargo spaces on the respective fleets, must be notified and recorded near the Ministry of Transportation, procedure that Maersk Line and MSC have already completed, while wider understandings as the P3 Networks that potentially can cause a restriction of the competition must be notified the ministry of the Commerce that has the power to authorize them or to prohibit them.

"We are very pleased - it has emphasized the responsible Trade and Marketing di Maersk Line, Vincent Clerc - than the Federal Maritime Commission has decided to allow that our Vessel Sharing Agreement with MSC can become operating. To our warning with this advantages obtain alone. Graces to a wider and economically more efficient Network we can continue to offer to our customers in North America, Europe and Asia competitive and reliable services of containerized transport marine. We preview to in January start the activity in our East-West Network 2015". Clerc has specified that on these routes Maersk Line it will today offer to a advanced number of ports of call and services respect, with the total realization of 21 spins regarding the 18 current ones for a total of 291 ports scaled regarding current the 212.

While, confirming that the VSA will be able to become operating from next saturday, the Federal Maritime Commission has explained that the authorization granted to the agreement between Maersk Line and MSC is based
on the determination that probably in this moment the understanding will not cause to a reduction of the competition neither an unjustified increase of the shipping charges neither tantomeno an unjustified reduction of the services of transport according to section 6 (g) of the Shipping Act, that it is relative to the effects on the competition determined from changes in the structure of the market. The FMC has specified that the decision imposes also obligation of communication of information by the parts of the agreement so as to assist the Commission in the effettuazione of a monitoring of the understanding.

"The decision of the Commission on the agreement 2M - the president of the Commission of the FMC, Mario Cordero has asserted - is based on the complete competitor analysis lead from the staff of the Federal Maritime Commission and so holds account of the answers of the parts of the agreement to the questions placed from staff and the commissioners in the course of the period of 45 days of examination as of the comments sent from the European Shippers' Council, the only received public comment on the agreement proposal. I confide - it has added Cordero - that the communication obligations will assure that the Commission will be able to have timely of specific information in order to monitor the which aimed at activity of the agreement and will allow with the FMC to act quickly if it were necessary".