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China's Ministry of Communications (MOC) has fined 18 shipping lines a total of CNY1.35 million (US$177,256) for increasing terminal handling charges at ports in southern China, Xinhua reports.
The shipping lines, which are members of the Informal South Asia Agreement (ISAA) and the Informal Red Sea Agreement (IRSA) discussion groups, have also been banned from conducting shipping activities on the mainland for one year.
Furthermore, the MOC said the higher terminal handling charges introduced at southern China ports from May 15 should be withdrawn, after the MOC determined that discussion agreements compiled by members of the ISAA and IRSA were invalid owing to their "improper filing" under the Maritime Regulation of China.
In addition, the group's participants have been ordered not to negotiate, establish, and implement any agreement concerning ISAA and IRSA operations and freight rates, reports Xinhua.
The penalties, which are said to be in line with Article 48 of the Maritime Rule of China, come as the MOC rejected an application from four shipping discussion groups to collectively raise terminal handling charges (THC) in the southern China area. The four discussion groups include the ISAA and IRSA, as well as the Intra-Asia Discussion Agreement (IADA) and the Informal Rate Agreement (IRA).
The MOC ruled that the four agreements put together by the liner shipping associations violated the "Notice on Strengthening Supervision on Liner Conferences and Freight Discussion Agreements," Decree No 10 that was issued by the Ministry of Communication on March 12.
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