Europe Commission ("Commission") has published an informal guidance on the agreement between APM Terminals, a port operator under the Maersk Group, and other port operators regarding the joint purchase of battery-powered straddle and shuttle carriers and the joint determination of their minimum technical specifications. The Commission stated in the guidance issued following APM Terminals' application regarding this sustainability agreement aimed at electrifying container handling equipment that the planned cooperation does not raise competition law concerns under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), provided that it includes the following measures:
(i) Each port operator party to the agreement must retain the freedom to independently purchase straddle and shuttle carriers.
(ii) The agreement must be structured in such a way as to prevent any anti-competitive effects on suppliers by limiting the pooling of demand volumes.
(iii) The sharing of competition-sensitive information among participating terminal operators should be limited to what is necessary for the operation of the agreement.
The published notice states that the guidance is limited to activities within the European Economic Area (EEA) for a period of five years. This action by the Commission was taken within the framework of the "Notice on Informal Guidance" updated in 2022 and aims to provide support to undertakings so that they can act in accordance with competition rules on innovative or unresolved issues. It was emphasized that the guidance aims to help undertakings move forward without uncertainty regarding the compatibility of their efforts to reduce carbon emissions with competition law.
(Commission – 09.07.2025)
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