THE European Shippers' Council (ESC) says plans by CMA CGM and Hamburg Sud to expand their collaboration will require close monitoring by competition authorities to ensure it does not lead to higher prices and lower quality and choice for cargo owners.
The ESC said the increased collaboration between CMA-CGM and Hamburg Sud "will make sure that the container liner market will be one step closer to total convergence".
This it said would reinforce "the risk of reducing service quality and sailing frequency as well as free choice for manufacturers and retailers, as well as enhancing prices".
The ESC said the move would "neither improve trade nor growth of economies", Lloyd's Loading List reported.
According to the ESC this new global partnership underlines the fact that maritime liner competition should be seen from a global perspective and not at regional level.
"A uniform process and analysis framework should be developed by competition authorities to deal with this new paradigm," it said.
The ESC urged national competition authorities to agree among themselves on a certain number of competitive sensitive data elements that could be monitored.
"Operational and juridical links between shipowners, correlation between price modification, and capacity modification should be part (among others) of data monitored," it added.
Speaking about the agreement, CMA CGM vice chairman Rodolphe Saade, said: "This partnership reinforces the group's position in South and North America, reflecting our ambitions in this rapidly growing area and giving us the means to accelerate our development."
Ottmar Gast, chairman of the executive board of Hamburg Sud added: "We value the partnership with CMA CGM and are excited about the new products which we are jointly offering to the market."