The Antitrust establishes that some trust in tariff matter for services marine in the Strait of Messina does not exist



The Guarantor Authority of the Competition and Market (AGCM) has established that "based on the information available the reasons of participation regarding the societies Charon & Tourist (C&T have failed), Italian Railway Net (RFI), Bluferries, Lines Meridian, Ustica Lines, Terminal Tremestieri and Consorzio Metromare of the Strait in relation to the understanding contested in violation of article 2 of the law n. 287/90 or of article 101 of the TFUE". The decision to start the istruttorio procedure regarding the seven societies in order to verify the existence of an only and complex understanding between the active operators in the market of the marine transport of goods, motors vehicle and passengers in the Strait of Messina, turns to the concertazione on the prices and to the division of the market, it was assumed on June 26, 2013.

For the hypothesis of division of the market, the assessments instructors have stopped in particular on the common enterprise Tremestieri Terminal (Terminal TT), consortile society participated from C&T, Bluferries and Meridiano each with a quota pairs to 33.3% that is constituted on October 20, 2015 and that it manages in concession the homonymous constructed harbour terminal in 2006 and dedicated to the heavy commercial means traffic in the Strait of Messina. The assessments were thesis to ascertain the role of Terminal TT in inducing underuse of the port of Tremestieri for the benefit of the other city ports from which they leave broken more breviums and therefore, to price parity, plus convenient for the carriers.

With respect to the assessments on a presumed concertazione between the parts in tariff matter - it has explained the Authority Antitrust - from the documentation collection in the course of the procedure "sufficient elements do not emerge to in the proceedings confirm the existence of the hypothesis of advanced concertazione of start. Al beyond the contacts between the carriers, riconducibili to the combined management of the port of Tremestieri - it has specified the AGCM - are not emerged in fact sufficient additional elements to prove the existence of a anticompetitive concertazione between concurrent enterprises and, at the same time, the conducts placed in being from the parts are susceptible of an explanation alternative to the concertazione considering that, also to light of the structural characteristics of the market - as described in the part in fact - such conducts can be interpreted also as I yield of independent individual choices. As for the hypothesis of division of the market, it mails in being also through a strategic use of the port of Tremestieri by the homonymous common enterprise, by the municipal assessments is emerged that the context in which the carriers have operated up to now reflects the structural inability of the new port of Tremestieri, in its current configuration, to receive the entire traffic goods of the Strait, as originally previewed at the moment of its opening, in 2006".

Concluding that "the acquired information in the course of the preliminary investigation are not sufficient to confirm the hypothesis of violation of the norm mail to protection of the competition delineated in the provision of start of the preliminary investigation in the market of the marine transport in the Strait of Messina", and therefore in order to charge lead restrictive to the seven societies, the AGCM has deliberated that based on the information available the reasons of participation in theirs have failed confront.

Commenting the deliberation of the Antitrust, the company Charon & Tourist have evidenced as the Guarantor Authority of the Competition and the Market has concluded the preliminary investigation without to inflict endorsements and "acquitting" the navigation companies that stablily operate in the Strait of Messina from the accusation to have constituted a stiff trust to omogeneizzare the prices of tickets and to armor the market of reference from the access of ulterior competitors. The managing directors of Charon & Tourist, Antonino Repaci and Vincenzo Franza, have emphasized as the final provision of the Authority receives the reasonings proposed from the society. In particular - they have specified - in the conclusive appraisals he recognizes himself that you it has not been some concertazione in tariff matter, attended that "the conducts of the parts can be interpreted as yield of independent individual choices" and that, in any case, are not emerged elements you turn to prove the existence of a anticompetitive concertazione; moreover it has not been mail in being some concertazione in order to the division of the market by means of a strategic use of the landing place of Tremestieri. It is clear therefore, second the AGCM - they have found - that the sottoutilizzazione of Tremestieri, in the periods of partial closing, is not imputable to the navigation societies.