The anti-trust approach to liner shipping under EU law following the repeal of Regulation 4056/86

Abstract

The aim of this research project is to examine the maritime transport industry, after the repeal of Council Regulation 4056/86. This paper commences with an introductory chapter including definitions of various liner shipping services carried out in the market and, a brief summary of the main principles of EU competition rules. The second chapter deals with the ‘Liner Conference Block Exemption’ that was granted by the Commission in 1986. This chapter goes into some detail of the rules and exemptions that the maritime industry benefited from at the time. The third chapter delves into the three year long review that eventually led to the repeal of the block exemption. This chapter will provide the reader with an analysis of all discussions and proposals of all interested parties. An examination of how liner conferences became fully applicable to articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union, is also made. The fourth chapter deals with the effects that the repeal had on the maritime industry. It goes into significant detail of the measures that were taken by the Commission took to help facilitate the transition of the industry after the repeal. This chapter also deals with the only block exemption that the maritime transport industry still benefits from nowadays – the ‘Liner Consortia Block Exemption’. This Regulation and the exemptions that it grants are discussed in some detail in this fourth chapter. The conclusion provides the reader with a discussion of how the liner shipping industry had been affected and if the repeal had eventually been advantageous or not. Also, this chapter delves into a brief discussion with regards to the benefits brought about by the Consortia Block Exemption.