Commission probes Baltic Max Feeder scheme

Source: Europolitics

The European Commission opened, on January 15, a formal anti-trust investigation into the ‘Baltic Max Feeder’ scheme, whereby European ship owners collectively agree to cover the costs of decommissioning feeder vessels (also known as ‘laying vessels up’). Feeder vessels are smaller container ships that collect shipping containers from different ports and transport them to central container terminals (Hamburg and Rotterdam, for example), where they are loaded onto bigger vessels.

The Commission is concerned that the scheme may be aimed at reducing capacity and therefore pushing up charter rates for such vessels. “This coordinated reduction of capacity – and therefore of the offer – is a potential infraction,” said a spokesperson for Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, adding that at this stage the Commission has no conclusive proof of an infringement.

The ‘Baltic Max Feeder’ scheme has been elaborated and promoted by Anchor Steuerberatungsgesellschaft mbH, a German tax advisor, as a response to the current overcapacity of feeder container vessels, which has brought charter rates down. The Commission will in particular examine whether this has the explicit aim of reducing the available capacity of feeder vessels in Europe, which in turn could increase the rates of chartering feeder vessels.