EU charges sea transport firms with running cartel
EU regulators said on Wednesday they had charged several sea transport companies with running a cartel for shipping bulk liquids on ocean routes.
Norwegian shipper Odfjell Seachem AS said it had been charged, four years after it settled a price-fixing probe by US regulators that fined it US$42.5 million and sent two executives to jail.
The European Union charges allege that the companies allocated customers, rigged bids, fixed prices and swapped confidential market information, actions that illegally restricted competition on the EU market.
The European Commission never names companies it is investigating on cartel charges until it comes to a final decision on whether or not to fine them.
Companies have two months to respond in writing to the charges, and can seek a hearing one month after that before regulators take a final decision to fine them up to 10 per cent of a company's total worldwide annual turnover.
The EU executive said it was following up on raids made in February 2003 and on information supplied since then by whistleblowers. At that time one shipper, the Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group, said it had been offered EU immunity for cooperating with regulators in the industrywide probe.
Odfjell was also raided. The company said on Wednesday that it had cooperated closely with EU regulators over the past four years and would continue to do so.
'Since the investigations began, Odfjell ASA has strengthened its internal competition compliance programme and has conducted training of all relevant personnel,' it said.
The EU charges come years after the US Department of Justice said both shippers had violated US antitrust law for fixing the cost of shipping specialty liquids.
Norwegian shipper Odfjell Seachem AS said it had been charged, four years after it settled a price-fixing probe by US regulators that fined it US$42.5 million and sent two executives to jail.
The European Union charges allege that the companies allocated customers, rigged bids, fixed prices and swapped confidential market information, actions that illegally restricted competition on the EU market.
The European Commission never names companies it is investigating on cartel charges until it comes to a final decision on whether or not to fine them.
Companies have two months to respond in writing to the charges, and can seek a hearing one month after that before regulators take a final decision to fine them up to 10 per cent of a company's total worldwide annual turnover.
The EU executive said it was following up on raids made in February 2003 and on information supplied since then by whistleblowers. At that time one shipper, the Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group, said it had been offered EU immunity for cooperating with regulators in the industrywide probe.
Odfjell was also raided. The company said on Wednesday that it had cooperated closely with EU regulators over the past four years and would continue to do so.
'Since the investigations began, Odfjell ASA has strengthened its internal competition compliance programme and has conducted training of all relevant personnel,' it said.
The EU charges come years after the US Department of Justice said both shippers had violated US antitrust law for fixing the cost of shipping specialty liquids.