News / 'An end to shipping alliances would see freight rates skyrocket'

© Denys Yelmanov

Shipper opposition to deepsea liner shipping alliances may be dangerously misplaced, delegates at the TOC Container Supply Chain event in Rotterdam heard yesterday.

Lars Jensen, chief executive and partner of SeaIntelligence Consulting, said efforts by some to bar container lines from operating in alliances, claiming they have become anti-competitive, would result in freight rates “skyrocketing”.

The EU’s Block Exemption Regulation (BER), the de facto legislation covering liner alliances and vessel-sharing agreements (VSAs) on container trades to and from Europe, is set to ...