The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) requests additional information regarding the Premier Alliance Agreement, involving three major global shipping carriers— HMM Co., Ltd. (HMM), Ocean Network Express Ptd. Ltd. (ONE), and the Yang Ming Joint Service Agreement (Yang Ming).
The Commission has determined that this alliance agreement, which would have gone into effect on December 12, as submitted lacks sufficient detail to allow for a complete analysis of potential competitive impacts, FMC said, and whether the agreement fully complies with all statutory requirements.
The three major container shipping companies filed the Premier Alliance Agreement (No. 201435) at the Commission on October 28.
The new agreement authorizes the three entities to share vessels, charter or exchange vessel space, discuss and agree on the size, number, and operational characteristics of vessels operated under the agreement, and engage in other related activities on a global scale.
The agreements become effective 45 days after filing unless the Commission issues a request for additional information (RFAI) as in this case.
“A global operational alliance of three container shipping companies will not go into effect next week because more information is needed by the Federal Maritime Commission to determine the potential competitive impacts of the arrangement,” FMC said in a statement.
There will be a 15-day public comment period once public notice of the RFAI is published.
The Commission uses the RFAI process to obtain documents and verifiable information necessary to achieve clarity on matters that were not addressed by the filing parties or where insufficient information was provided in the originally filed agreement.
The FMC’s re-consideration of the agreement will not start until it receives a “fully compliant” response to its inquiry.
Once the reply is received the FMC has 45 days in which to complete a review for competitive and legal concerns before it becomes effective.
