FEFC ENDS LEGAL BATTLE WITH EC ON INLAND RATES

FEFC ENDS LEGAL BATTLE WITH EC ON INLAND RATES    The shipping lines of the Far Eastern Freight Conference have unanimously decided not to lodge a final appeal against a European court’s judgment prohibiting conferences in Europe from setting joint inland and intermodal rates.
   The Asia/Europe carriers of the Far Eastern Freight Conference had to consider whether to drop their long-standing appeal case of a 1994 decision of the European Commission that joint inland ratemaking activities are not exempt under EC conference regulation 4056/86. On Feb. 28, the European court of first instance in Luxembourg rejected the FEFC carriers’ main appeal, and backed the European Commission on this issue of principle against the carriers.
   Although the Far Eastern Freight Conference could have appealed the ruling of the court of first instance, the conference said that the “ruling by the court of first instance marks the end of a long judicial saga.”
   “It is hoped that the conference lines can now work with their customers and the commission in a new spirit of cooperation and based on the present regulatory environment,” the Far Eastern Freight Conference said in a statement.
   The carrier group said that its practice of inland tariffs was abandoned by the Far Eastern Freight Conference in May 1999.
   The FEFC carriers that recently lost the 1994 appeal case are Compagnie Generale Maritime (now CMA CGM), Hapag-Lloyd, “K” Line, Lloyd Triestino, A.P. M'ller-Maersk Line (now Maersk Sealand), Malaysian International Shipping Corp., Mitsui O.S.K Lines, Nedlloyd Lijnen (now P&O Nedlloyd), Neptune Orient Lines, NYK Line, Orient Overseas Container Line, P&O Containers (now P&O Nedlloyd), and Wilh. Wilhelmsen.
   The current members of the Far Eastern Freight Conference are APL, CMA CGM, Egyptian International Shipping Co., Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, “K” Line, Maersk Sealand, Malaysia International Shipping Corp., MOL, National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia, NYK, OOCL, P&O Nedlloyd and Yang Ming Marine Transport.