EU tests ship classifier competition pledge

Source: Guardian

* Regulators seek comment on IACS plans
* IACS plans in response to Jan. antitrust raids
* EC unveils new ship management state aid guidelines
(Adds details)

BRUSSELS, June 10 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators on Wednesday asked interested parties in the ship classification sector to comment on whether proposals by industry body IACS to amend its operating practices would boost competition.
The move comes after raids in January last year by European Commission inspectors at several providers and an association of ship classification services on suspicion that they were breaking EU rules by restricting competition.
Classification societies establish, apply and certify compliance with requirements such as technical standards on the design, construction, maintenance and survey of ships, which are laid down in classification rules.
More than 90 percent of the world's cargo-carrying tonnage is covered by the classification design, construction and compliance rules and standards set by IACS' 10 member societies and one associate.
In a statement, the Commission said its concerns related to the ship classification market, in particular that IACS might have prevented classification societies that were not IACS members from joining, from participation in IACS technical working groups and from access to technical documents.
After detailed discussions, IACS proposed a series of commitments to address the Commission's concerns, published in the EU's Official Journal on Wednesday.
"Interested parties can submit comments within one month from the date of publication. If the result of the market test is positive, the Commission intends to adopt a decision ... making the commitments legally binding on IACS," it said.
Such a decision would mean there were no longer grounds for the Commission to act, without concluding whether there had been -- or still was -- any infringement of EU antitrust rules.
However, if IACS did not comply with its commitments, "the Commission may impose on the undertaking or association of undertakings concerned a fine of up to 10 percent of its total worldwide turnover", the statement said.
Separately, the Commission unveiled new guidelines on state aid for ship management companies under which the tonnage tax may be applied to all ship managers as long as they contribute to development of the European maritime cluster.
Ship managers would also have to implement the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 ahead of its entry into force. (Reporting by Jeremy Smith and Foo Yun Chee, editing by Will Waterman and Simon Jessop)