China’s Ministry of Transport fines eight container lines
China’s Ministry of Transport has announced that it will implement administrative punishment on eight container lines for either not reporting their freight rates or not carrying out the freight standards set by the ministry.
The eight companies who have been handed fines are Gold Star Line, Pacific International Lines, Maersk Line, Nansung Shipping, Cheng Lie Navigation, Cosco Container Lines, Hanjin Shipping and ZIM Shipping. The fine amount to a total of RMB1.1m ($169k).
China is determined to crack down on price fixing and various surcharge irregularities in the container shipping sector. The ministry has been investigating freight rates in the container shipping market since August in an effort to eliminate price wars and stabilise the market.
In November, Splash reported that the Shanghai offices of many of the world’s leading containerlines were raided by local authorities looking to clamp down on erroneous surcharges that the lines have been charging shippers.