On 18 December 2017 the Bundeskartellamt, the German competition authority, announced it had reached settlements with three undertakings and their executives in connection with their involvement in a cartel in the harbor towage sector.
The investigations revealed that German and Dutch harbour towage service providers had concluded cartel agreements, and more specifically market-sharing agreements for several German ports, since 2000/2001. In its press release ACM highlights that ACM and the Bundeskartellamt took advantage of the opportunities that European competition authorities have for exchanging information and coordinating investigations. Following the settlements the Bundeskartellamt and ACM have closed the investigation into the harbour towage sector.
