P3 Network Vessel Sharing Agreement, Commissioner William P. Doyle Welcomes Extending Comment Period

Today the Federal Maritime Commission announced that it would extend receipt of public comments to November 29, 2013, regarding the proposed P3 Network Vessel Sharing Agreement. The Agreement was filed on October 24, 2013 by A.P. Moller Maersk dba Maersk Line, CMA CGM, S.A., and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, S.A. As noticed in the Federal Register, “The agreement authorizes the parties to share vessels and engage in related cooperative activity in the trades between Asia, North Europe, and the Mediterranean on one hand, and U.S. on the other hand.”

Commissioner William P. Doyle is in full support of transparency and for allowing the comment period to remain open on the proposed alliance. The Commission’s past practice has been to vote to accept comments filed after the deadline. He stated: “It’s important to allow the shipping public and stakeholders the opportunity to comment on an alliance such as this that comprises the world’s three largest container ship carriers.” Commissioner Doyle continued, “I would like to hear from stakeholders who are comfortable with the proposed alliance and those that may not be comfortable with the proposed alliance; and if stakeholders believe the P3 filing needs more clarity and/or other assurances, then I would like to hear their ideas in this regard.”

This morning, Commissioner Doyle participated in a productive conversation with three principals from the P3 Network, Vincent Clerc, Maersk, Diego Aponte, MSC, and Rodolfo Saadé, CMA CGM. Commissioner Doyle noted, “I am looking forward to reviewing the FMC’s staff analysis on the proposed alliance and following up with additional questions to the P3 principals.”

The P3 Network Vessel Sharing Agreement can be found on the Federal Maritime Commission website at: http://www2.fmc.gov/agreement_lib/012230-000-P.pdf Comments may be submitted electronically to the Commission using: secretary@fmc.gov.