The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has not approved the P3 Network (P3), a planned long-term operational vessel sharing agreement proposed by shipping liners MSC, CMA CGM, and Maersk Line.
Vincent Clerc, chief trade and marketing officer of Maersk Line, said the liner was "disappointed" in the decision, which follows a review under China's merger control rules.
"We have worked hard to address the Chinese questions and concerns. So of course it is a disappointment. P3 would have provided Maersk Line with a more efficient network and our customers with a better product," he said.
Maersk Line, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and CMA CGM announced their intention to establish a long-term operational vessel sharing agreement on the East – West trades in mid-2013, calling the agreement the P3 Network (P3).
The overall aim with the P3 operational cooperation was to make container liner shipping more efficient and improve service quality for the shippers due to more frequent and reliable services, said Maersk.
In late March 2014, the United States Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) decided to allow the P3 network agreement to become effective in the US, and in early June the European Commission informed the P3 partners that it had decided not to open an antitrust investigation.
P3 was scheduled to start operations in the autumn of 2014.
