EC checking for antitrust violations

EC checking for antitrust violations    The European Commission said its officials have conducted unannounced inspections at the offices of container liner shipping companies Tuesday, saying it “has reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated the antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices and/or abuse of a dominant market position.”
   The European Union eliminated the bloc exemption for liner shipping conferences in October 2008.
   It was not immediately clear how many lines were being visited. Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Co., CMA CGM, Hapag Lloyd, Neptune Orient Line, OOCL and Evergreen all confirmed their offices were visited, and Hamburg-Sud and Hanjin told other publications that inspectors had visited their offices.
   'We can confirm that, today the European Commission carried out an unannounced inspection in our offices,' said Christian Kledal, head of group legal for Maersk’s parent, the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group. 'The purpose of this inspection is to ascertain whether there is evidence of any infringement of European competition law related to liner shipping.
   “It is our clear opinion that our practices are in compliance with EU competition legislation, and we fully cooperate with the Commission's employees to investigate the matter thoroughly,” Kledal said. “For several years we have implemented our compliance program, which includes guidelines and training of employees, etc., in order to ensure, to the widest extent possible, that our employees are aware of legislation and how to adhere to it.”
   Hapag-Lloyd said in a statement that it “is working closely with the investigating authority. We are convinced that we are in compliance with EU legislation.”
   CMA CGM said it was fully cooperating with the agent of the European Commission.
   Both MSC and NOL are headquartered outside of the Europe Union — in Switzerland and Singapore, respectively — but both said European offices were visited.
   “Our office in Antwerp was visited by the European Commission authorities yesterday and we are cooperating fully with this investigation,' said Allen Clifford, executive vice president at MSC.
   NOL issued a statement to the Singapore Stock Exchange saying “European Commission's representatives have visited NOL's office in Uxbridge, United Kingdom.
   “NOL understands that the intent of the inspection is to identify the existence of any evidence of infringement of anticompetition rules relating to the liner shipping industry,” and added it “believes that it is in compliance with the anticompetition regulations and is cooperating fully with the European Commission.”
   The EC said “unannounced inspections are a preliminary step into suspected anticompetitive practices,” adding “the fact that the commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anticompetitive behavior, nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself.”
   The EC said it “respects the rights of defense, in particular the right of companies to be heard in antitrust proceedings.
   “There is no legal deadline to complete inquiries into anticompetitive conduct. Their duration depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of each case, the extent to which the undertakings concerned cooperate with the commission and the exercise of the rights of defense,” it added.
   The EC said its officials were accompanied by counterparts from national competition authorities. ' Chris Dupin