SIMIC

Following an investigation by the Hong Kong Competition Commission, port operators accepted a suggestion from Maersk that truck transfers be included in the cap though transshipment cargo would not.

Maersk was among nine respondents, along with OOCL and industry groups, to a request for comment by the commission last August as part of an investigation into the Hong Kong Seaport Alliance (HKSPA), reported IHS Media.

The alliance was created in January 2019 by four of the territory's five terminal operators as a commercial organisation to improve operating efficiencies.

The caps are among five commitments made by terminal operators to ensure the alliance can continue to operate and were outlined in a final investigation report published by the commission.

Alliance members are Modern Terminals, Hongkong International Terminals, Cosco-HIT Terminals and ACT Terminals that control 23 berths covering eight of the nine terminals at Kwai Chung container port.

The launch of the alliance in April 2019 raised concerns among carriers, shippers, and forwarders that terminal operators could collude over pricing and other commercial issues, sparking the commission's investigation.