UK and France open competition probes into ferry operators

 

UK and France open competition probes into ferry operators

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the French Competition Authority have launched parallel competition investigations into capacity sharing agreements for freight shipment services of P&O Ferries and DFDS.

The French investigation followed two weeks after a similar probe was opened on 12 November by the CMA into the same arrangements.

DFDS and P&O Ferries transport more than 2.5 million trucks across the English Channel each year.

The operators have claimed that the arrangements are essential to ensure the continued viability of the cross-channel UK-EU trading route.  According to the operators their cooperation arrangements ensure that drivers have access to departures every 36 minutes.  The parties claim that their cooperation will reduce wait times while preserving the resilience of these routes.

The regulators have not formally announced whether they are cooperating in their investigations but it would be surprising if talks were not underway. A ‘pick up the phone’ culture of information exchange between competition authorities conducting similar investigations is by no means unusual.  Brexit should not change that despite the current frostiness in political relations.  There is an obvious need to coordinate theories of harm and remedies to avoid inconsistent results which could compromise each regulator’s objectives.

However, different results are not unheard of.  In 2013 the Competition Commission blocked Eurotunnnel’s acquisition of SeaFrance when the French Competition Authority approved the transaction.