Singapore's extension of shipping block exemption hailed by shipowners
Time：2015-12-02
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The BEO exempts a category of liner shipping agreements from the prohibition against anti-competitive agreements in Singapore, permitting two or more carrier operators to jointly provide services in the areas of technical, operational or commercial arrangements and to set freight rates.
The decision to extend the exemption for container lines from competition laws has been welcomed by the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), reports Seatrade Maritime News.
"To me it is self-evident that the dismal state of the global container market and the extremely low box rates being paid, clearly prove that whatever help the industry can be given at this point will be most welcome," said SSA president Esben Poulsson.
"These historically low rates illustrates just how competitive the market is and highlight how any talk of this measure being `anti-competitive,` is just plain wrong," he added.