US FMC grants regulatory approval to Ocean Alliance
The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has concluded its review of the proposed Ocean Alliance, allowing the four-member container lines alliance to become effective on 24 October 2016.
The Ocean Alliance is comprised of Cosco Shipping, CMA CGM, Evergreen Marine, and Orient Overseas Container Line Limited (OOCL). The alliance is scheduled to enter into operation in April 2017, provided all the required regulatory approvals are obtained.
“The commission worked very hard to balance the needs of not only the Ocean Alliance applicants, but all other parties involved in the intermodal supply chain, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding competition in international oceanborne common carriage, with the American shipping public foremost in mind,” commented Mario Cordero, chairman of FMC.
“The agreement going into force represents a consensus of what will allow Ocean Alliance carriers to achieve efficiencies without harming the marketplace,” he said.
FMC has now permitted the carrier members to share vessels, charter and exchange space on each other’s ships, and enter into cooperative working arrangements in international trade lanes between the US and ports in Asia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Canada, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Apart from the Ocean Alliance, other global alliances of the container shipping industry include 2M and THE Alliance.
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