CCI to probe Maersk, DP World for antitrust

The decision by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to investigate follows a complaint by Singapore’s PSA International Pte Ltd, which alleged that Maersk and DP World created entry barriers to hinder the growth of PSA’s terminal by colluding on certain charges they levy at the state-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).

Handling 66 million tonnes of cargo in the last fiscal year to March, JNPT is critical to India’s international trade. The port handles more than half of India’s traffic of shipping containers each year.

Units of Maersk, DP World and PSA operate four of the port’s five terminals, with the fifth owned by the government. The PSA terminal, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February, is planned to be the largest, expected to nearly double JNPT’s capacity and help fulfil the government’s vision of boosting India’s economic growth by modernising its ports.

The dispute centers around so-called inter-terminal transfers.

Under the system, which aims to make the most efficient use of common infrastructure, freight trains arriving at JNPT typically carry containers destined for several terminals, but stop at just one that handles all the cargo on a given day. Other operators then collect their containers by truck for loading at their own terminals.