Rotterdam-based logistics company Samskip condemns the Icelandic Competition Authority’s decision in its investigation into Eimskip’s and Samskip’s alleged collusion in the North Atlantic market from 2006 to 2013.
The company, which is an expert in multimodal cargo transportation, refrigerated logistics and international forwarding, rejects the Icelandic Competition Authority’s (ICA) findings which characterises it as “wholly baseless”.
“The ICA’s findings of extensive and organised collusion are wholly baseless and in no context with either data or facts. Samskip condemns the ICA’s approach in the investigation and intends to have its results overturned,” said Samskip.
Samskip notes that it “has submitted detailed comments on the reports illustrating how the ICA’s preliminary conclusions were fundamentally incorrect.” The ICA then published its findings and decision on fines conclusion 31.08.2023.
“Theories and conclusions about violations are presented without backing with evidence. Theories are supported by false representations of data and facts or blatant misinterpretations,” says the company Samskip.
The ICA’s investigation has been ongoing since 2010, in accordance with the company which claims that the “ICA carried out raids at Samskip and Eimskip in 2013 and 2014, seizing large amounts of data.”
“Ten years have passed since the 2013 raid. The ICA’s theories and conclusions only became apparent when it presented the companies with preliminary reports in two parts. The document’s first part was issued on 6 June 2018, and the second on 13 December 2019. At that time, six years had passed since the first raid and almost ten from the beginning of the investigation. In late November 2020, the ICA added a third preliminary report to which Samskip submitted its comments in January 2021,” it claims.
In a short statement Samskip mentions that “builds its operations on competition in all markets, and the company leads in creating effective competition and cost-effective solutions in transport and related services. The ICA’s conclusion is characterised by half-truths, misleading statements, and misrepresentations of facts.”
The Icelandic Competition Authority (ICA) mentions in its statement today regarding the decision: “The collusion between Samskip and Eimskip as a whole was intended to enable the companies to significantly reduce competition and raise or maintain prices, e.g., by raising prices when contracts were being renewed, by raising prices and fees in price lists, by introducing new fees, by reducing discounts, etc.”
The ICA concludes that Samskip violated the prohibition of article 10 of the Icelandic Competition Act, and article 53.1 of the EEA Agreement. It also violated, in accordance with the authority, article 19 of the Icelandic Competition Act.
“Theories and conclusions about violations are presented without backing with evidence,” points out Samskip which warns that will use all available means available by law to overturn the decision.
