The Gemini Cooperation Agreement will take effect today.

The Agreement was filed with the Federal Maritime Commission on May 31, 2024, and was reviewed by the agency under statutory timeframes pursuant to applicable sections of the law, to assess its likely competitive impacts and its compliance with other statutory requirements and prohibitions.

Existing law (46 U.S.C. 41307) empowers the Commission to assess the competitive effects of a filed agreement to determine if it is likely, by a reduction in competition, to cause an unreasonable increase in transportation costs or a decrease in transportation service.  If the Commission makes such a finding, on either a newly filed agreement or an already-operative agreement, its exclusive remedy is to seek an injunction in federal district court.  The Commission has not determined to seek an injunction against the Gemini Cooperation Agreement at this time.

The Gemini Cooperation Agreement will be subject to extensive Commission monitoring.  Parties participating in alliance agreements must agree to monitoring conditions and requirements.  Carrier alliance agreements are subject to enhanced examination and continuous oversight. Monitoring of the Gemini Cooperation Agreement will commence today.

The Commission administers other authorities that can be used in addition to monitoring to assess the conduct and consequences of carrier alliance agreements, including using existing administrative investigatory authorities when reviewing the competitive effects of cooperative agreements filed at the FMC. 

The Gemini Cooperation Agreement allows Maersk A/S and Hapag-Lloyd AG and Hapag-Lloyd USA, LLC to share vessels in the trades between the United States and Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.  The agreement was originally filed at the Commission in May 2024.  The Commission issued a Request for Additional Information (RFAI) on July 12, 2024, which required the filing parties to provide the data necessary for completing an economic analysis of the competitive effects of the Agreement.  The parties submitted responses to the RFAI on July 26, 2024.  By law, the Commission has a maximum of 45 days to review a newly filed agreement or the responses to an RFAI before the agreement automatically goes into effect.