The alliance of the three biggest container lines across themain east–west trades was intended to start operating by this summer,but has been held up by delays in obtaining regulatory clearance in Europe andAsia.
The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) gave its go-ahead to the P3 Network in March.
The partners say the P3 is aimed at improvingefficiency and quality for customers by providing more frequent and reliable services with a greater spread ofport pairings.
But many cargo shippers criticise the alliance, and theknock-on effect of pushing other carriers into bigger groupings, forreducing competition and choice on the main trade lanes.
The P3 partners say they are continuing to cooperate withcompetition and maritime authorities in Europe and Asia to address questionsabout the nature of the alliance.
