ESC renews the demand to the EU to inquire on the market of the containerized marine transport



The European Shippers' Council (ESC), the association that represents the European loaders, is completely unsatisfied of the inertia with which the - to warning of the organization - EU commission it faces the anomalous course of the market of the containerized marine transport, characterized from an escalation of the value of the hires. According to the association, this inaction is recorded also in the vigilance activities on the respect of the European norms by the EU, and in particular - it has denounced the ESC - relatively to the European regulations of exemption for category (CBER) for the consortia between navigation companies that services of marine transport of line operate, regulations that establishes the conditions based on which the companies can cooperate, agreeing practical decisions and supplying services common without to violate the European norms on the competition. Between the prohibition you mail from the regulations, is mainly what it forbids to agree the transport rates, but also those to limit the transport ability artatamente and to subdivide markets or customers. Draft of a type of exemption for category that is essentially introduced with the scope to assure that a quota consisting of the deriving advantages from the increment of effectiveness of the activity of the marine consortia allowed from the regulations falls back on the users of the marine transport.

According to the ESC, instead, the European authorities of regulation do not exercise some control on the acts of the navigation companies to which the regulations of exemption for category they of being guarantee totally exempted from the European norms on the competition.

The European Shippers' Council has flayed the EU commission in order not to have answered to a denunciation of the loaders and the European shippers neither expressed some proposal in occasion of the Maritime organized Forum from the same Commission that has carried out past thursday and has assembled all the parts in cause: marine, operating, harbour shipowners, carriers, shippers, loaders and the representatives of the head offices to the Competition and the Transports of the EU commission, reunion that was convened in order to discuss about the last developments in the field of the containerized transport and the possible decisions to adopt.

The ESC has denounced that in that occasion the containerized companies of navigation have allegated to have made of their best in order to tackle to the volatility of the question in the course of 2020 and have rejected any responsibility, "insisting on the fact - it has emphasized the association of the European loaders - than the important increase of their profits of the second half of 2020, so as the forecast of still greater profits in 2021, constitutes a deserved compensation for the five much difficult years precedence". Affirmation this - it has evidenced the ESC - "that it can be contested since nobody of they, except the Hanjin, is failed and all have invested heavy in new great ships".

"In reality - it has still denounced the ESC - harbour loaders, authorities, terminals operator and shippers have seen theirs gain in terms of efficiency in the marine part of the supply chain cancelled from a poor quality of the service and an increase of the costs in the connection ship-earth. The current situation - it has emphasized the association - is profitable impossible to export goods since the rates too much are elevated regarding the profit margins".

The European Shippers' Council has restated that against this the representatives of the European Union "have not held in consideration the demands for the majority of the interested parts anticipate that they have asked ulterior investigations, a future monitoring and an immediate framing of the market of the line services. We risk - it has admonished the association - to lose the overhong and to endure ulterior losses. The EU seems to be behind schedule, since the USA, China and Korea have intensified the activity of monitoring and opened investigations on the current situation of the market".

Exhorting the EU commission to recover this delay, the ESC has invited also to publish it a orientativo document face to a "collaboration ethics", to the aim of giving in short termin to the parts involved in the containerized transport the greater clarity on as interacting between they, while more in the long term it would be necessary, second the association, to relatively assume ulterior measures to the regulations of exemption of category for the containerized marine consortia or to the field of the ships of large-capacity.