The Icelandic Competition Authority (ICA) has been investigating possible infringements of Article 10 of the Icelandic Competition Law and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement by Eimskip and Samskip. The alleged infringements concern a collusion between the two undertakings in the markets for maritime shipping, land transport, freight forwarding and related services, mainly in the period from 2008 to 2013.
According to a joint statement from 9 Junethat In 2021, Eimskip approached the ICA with a request to enter formal talks with the ICA on a possible settlement that would conclude the investigation as regards Eimskip. Article 17. f. of the Icelandic Competition Act permits the ICA to conclude all investigations with a settlement, regardless of which stage the investigation is in. The ICA agreed to enter settlement talks.
On 16 Junethat In 2021, the ICA and Eimskip signed a settlement which includes Eimskip admitting to serious violations of competition law, a payment of a fine of ISK 1,500,000,000, in addition to committing to taking actions to prevent possible future violations.
Serious violations acknowledged
According to the settlement, Eimskip admits to having committed serious violations of Article 10 of the Icelandic Competition Law and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement. Eimskip acknowledges the following violations during the investigation period, which began after a meeting between Eimskip and Samskip on 6 June.that in 2008.
· Collusion with Samskip in the latter part of 2008 regarding changes in sailing systems and limiting transport capacity in maritime shipping to and from Iceland.
· Collusion with Samskip in allocating larger customers in the maritime shipping and land transport markets. This collusion was less extensive in 2013.
· Collusion with Samskip regarding fees and discounts for transport services and exchanging important information regarding prices and business matters. This collusion was less extensive in 2013.
· Collusion with Samskip in land transport regarding transportation routes in Iceland and dividing the market in connection with certain transportation routes.
· Collusion with Samskip on maritime shipping between Iceland and other European countries, as well as other actions aimed at restricting competition in transport services.
· Collusion with Samskip on maritime shipping between Iceland and North America when an exemption from Article 10 of the Icelandic Competition Law was not in force.
Eimskip also admits to collusion with Samskip before the meeting between the two undertakings on 6 June.that 2008. However, that collusion was of a smaller scope than the one that started after the June meeting.
Furthermore, Eimskip acknowledges a breach of Article 19 of the Icelandic Competition Law by failing to provide necessary or accurate information or by neglecting to hand over data for the purposes of the ICA's investigation.
Actions to prevent repetition of violations
Part of the settlement is Eimskip's binding commitment to take actions to prevent future violations and strengthen competition. That includes active internal control and education, as well as ensuring that key employees and directors are aware of the importance of competitors in oligopolistic markets being independent of each other and the strict ban under competition law of any communication with competitors or possible competitors that is capable of restricting competition.
Eimskip also undertakes to review all contracts the company has with other companies in the transport sector. Furthermore, Eimskip is obliged to terminate all business relations with Samskip and other transport companies with which Samskip has business relations. This does not apply if Eimskip can prove to the ICA that the nature of the relationship will not have disruptive effects on competition between Eimskip and Samskip.
Eimskip pays fine
According to the settlement, Eimskip has agreed to pay a fine of ISK 1,500,000,000 as a result of the aforementioned violations. The fine will be paid into the Icelandic state treasury. In determining the fine, due account was taken of the company's willingness to come forward and admit to serious violations, as well as its commitment to measures that prevent future violations and strengthen competition. According to Icelandic competition law, such initiatives can lead to reduced fines.
Samskip is still under investigation
By signing the settlement agreement, the ICA has ended its investigation into Eimskip. However, the alleged violations by Samskip remain under investigation.
Background information
The ICA's investigation began with a dawn raid on 10 September 2013. A further dawn raid was conducted in June 2014. The investigation has since been conducted continuously and without delays by the ICA. The scope of the investigation is unprecedented for the ICA. The case of Eimskip and Samskip has been a top priority for the ICA from the beginning and both parties have had an opportunity to provide their comments on the ICA's preliminary assessment, as explained in two statements of objections. The first statement was presented to the companies in June 2018 and the latter in December 2019. The parties' objections and comments were available to the ICA by the end of August 2020. Both parties denied any violation of Article 10 of the Icelandic Competition Act and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement.
As a consequence of signing the settlement agreement, Eimskip's former objections regarding alleged violations are irrelevant to the conclusion of the case.
The signing of a settlement agreement is binding on the company concerned, in accordance with Article 17(f) of the Icelandic Competition Act.
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