The Federal Court of Australia has convicted Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) of criminal cartel conduct and ordered it to pay a fine of $25 million relating to the transportation of motor vehicles to Australia between 2009 and 2012. The fine is the second-highest fine ever imposed by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC). … [Read more...]
Container Shipping Companies Ordered to Testify in U.S. Antitrust Probe
By Jonathan Saul and Keith Wallis LONDON/SINGAPORE, March 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has ordered top executives from several container shipping lines to testify in an antitrust investigation over practices by an industry that is the backbone of world trade, the companies said on Wednesday. The world's biggest container group, Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk, … [Read more...]
South African Competition Watchdog Seeks Penalty Against K-Line
JOHANNESBURG, March 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's competition watchdog ruled on Monday that Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd's (K-Line), one of Japan's biggest transport companies, had conspired to rig bids for shipping cars. The Competition Commission said it had recommended a fine equivalent to 10 percent of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd's (K-Line) local turnover. A K-Line … [Read more...]
Damen Headquarters Raided Amid Foreign Bribery Investigation
AMSTERDAM, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Dutch investigators have raided the Netherlands' biggest ship builder, Damen Shipyards, as part of a criminal investigation into a foreign bribery case, the finance ministry's anti-fraud agency said on Monday. Investigators from Fiscal Information and Investigation Service seized documents from the shipbuilder's head office in Gorinchem during … [Read more...]
South Africa Raids Global Shipping Lines in Collusion Probe
By Liezel Hill (Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s Competition Commission searched the premises of six shipping companies including AP Moeller-Maersk A/S as part of an investigation into allegations that they colluded to fix incremental cargo rates between Asia and South Africa. The antitrust regulator started raids on premises of local operations of Copenhagen-based Maersk and … [Read more...]
WWL to Pay Nearly $100 Million Criminal Fine Over Ro-Ro Price Fixing Scheme
Norwegian shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics AS (WWL) has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $98.9 million criminal fine for its involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices of international ocean shipments of roll-on, roll-off cargo to and from the Port of Baltimore and other locations in the United States, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday. According to … [Read more...]
EU Commission Closes Competition Investigation Against Maersk, MSC, and Others
By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS, July 7 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators accepted on Thursday an offer from Maersk, the world's largest container shipping liner, and 13 competitors to change their pricing practices in order to stave off possible fines. The case is closely watched by other sectors such as supermarkets and chemicals companies, concerned that similar pricing … [Read more...]