ELAA happy with European liner consortia review

ELAA happy with European liner consortia review The European Liner Affairs Association has submitted its recommendations with the European Commission concerning the review of Regulation 823/2000, which grants block exemption for liner shipping consortia.
   The Brussels-based liner industry representative said it supports the consortia review and is heartened by recent EC public statements indicating the adoption of a new block exemption.

Bourne

   'I am pleased that consortia are here to stay as they make sense for all parties,' said Chris Bourne, executive director of the ELAA. 'All the lines use consortia and in many cases they are the only way in which smaller lines can remain competitive. Our customers are in support of consortia as they help to maintain high levels of port choice and service during periods of variable market demand. Environmental contingencies are also well catered for as a result of the efficiencies created by consortia operation.'
   The current Block Exemption Regulation 823/2000 was most recently amended in 2005, although the last in-depth review was in 1999. As such the ELAA believes changes in the operational nature of the liner shipping industry and consortia in particular should now be taken into account.
   The two main areas in which the current BER needs updating, the ELAA says, are the removal of all references to Regulation 4056/86 (the law concerning liner conferences due for repeal in October) and an extension to the scope in which consortia are allowed to operate to reflect the growth in volume and trades in the 10 years since the last review.
   The ELAA also suggests the abolition of various other 'obsolete' devices, such as joint bills of lading, which only serve to make the legislation unnecessarily complex.
   'A working group of ELAA members has been considering both its own and customers' needs in relation to consortia and their activity as far into the future as 2015,' Bourne said. 'We have incorporated a number of its suggestions for improvement to the BER in our submission. For example, on certain trades market share thresholds above which a consortium is barred from operating, are too low for practical purposes. In addition, the 36-month limit to consortia agreements is also impractical these days as vessel owners and capital providers are demanding commitments of much greater length than this.'
   The ELAA's full submission can be accessed at www.elaa.net/documents/ELAAConsortiaSubmission24April2008.pdf, and a version of the Regulation with suggested changes by ELAA can be accessed at www.elaa.net/documents/ELAAProposedamendmentstoBER24April2008.pdf. ' Simon Heaney