The European Commission has prolonged for four more years regulation allowing liner companies to operate as consortia without infringing competition rules.
The legislation, known as Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (BER), has formally been extended until 25 April 2024.
The move will allow lines with a combined market share of less than 30% to cooperate or provide joint services on European trades.
The decision come four months after the publication of draft legislation that saw liner operators and shippers clash over the proposal to renew the competition law without any changes.
Disproportionate
Shippers’ representatives have described the BER as a "disproportionate and excessively liberal concession from normal competition rules".
Nicolette van der Jagt, director-general of the Clecat shippers lobby, called the EC's decision "a missed opportunity for changing the rules on liner shipping to more fairly reflect the views of customers".
But the World Shipping Council (WSC), which represents liner operators, said the extension of BER provided "legal certainty for the use of vessel sharing agreements".
WSC chief executive John Butler said cooperation had helped carriers "provide customers with better services at lower cost and with improved environmental performance".
He added that vessel sharing was an important tool for smaller carriers and lower volume trade lanes, where demand might not otherwise support many competitors.
Odds tilted
The BER has been in existence in its current form for 10 years, and comes under review every five years. It was due to expire on 25 April 2020.
But the odds tilted in favour of a renewal last November when the EC published a working document.
The European Union's executive body stated that "consortia allow their members to pool their vessels together and provide services or frequencies that carriers would not be able to provide on their own means".
Cost efficiencies have been passed on to customers and the quality of services has not deteriorated, but had remained stable since 2014, the EC said.
The WSC estimates that the liner shipping industry transports more than 45m teu to and from the EU each year, with a value of more than €1.4trn ($1.49trn).
