The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced today that Gemini Cooperation, the partnership established earlier this year by the Maersk Line and Hapag-Lloyd containerized shipping ( of 17 January 2024), will not enter into force next as the agency needs more information to assess the impact of the agreement on competition.

The agreement is expected to enter into force on February 1 2025. However, in the USA the Passage of the Shipping Act of 1984 provides that this type of agreement involving the sea trade with the United States automatically become effective 45 days after its notification to the FMC, which took place on 31 May, unless the agency takes action to block the entry into force of the agreement. After notification the agency had launched a public consultation and has now decided to suspend the entry into force pending further information not having sufficient details to realize a comprehensive analysis of potential competitive impacts ( of 7 June 2024).

The Federal Maritime Commission specified that the The continuation of the examination of the agreement will not begin until will not have received fully satisfactory answers with respect to to their own requests. If such information is provided, after have determined that the additional information is deemed to be The FMC will have another 45 days to review the agreement before it becomes effective. At the same time, the next a new public consultation will be launched this week lasting 15 days.