Mediterranean Shipping Co’s container terminal in Valencia is at the centre of a legal dispute between the port authority and terminal operator Noatum which could have implications well beyond Spain.
For one of the central issues concerns alliances such as P3, which will be the world’s largest vessel-sharing agreement when it is up and running, and how member lines select their terminals.
The Valencia case, which has many different strands, also brings together some of the most powerful names in shipping, either directly or indirectly.
Mediterranean Shipping Co’s container terminal in Valencia is at the centre of a legal dispute between the port authority and terminal operator Noatum which could have implications well beyond Spain.
For one of the central issues concerns alliances such as P3, which will be the world’s largest vessel-sharing agreement when it is up and running, and how member lines select their terminals.
The Valencia case, which has many different strands, also brings together some of the most powerful names in shipping, either directly or indirectly.
Noatum is the ports arm of investment bank JP Morgan, whose asset management division acquired the public terminal in Valencia when it bought the Spanish group Dragados in 2010. The P3 alliance is being set up by the world’s three biggest container lines, Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM.
Valencia was ranked number 30 in the latest Containerisation International Top 100 Container Ports analysis, with throughput of 4.5m teu in 2012. However, volumes slipped 3.2% in 2013 to 4.3m teu as some services switched to non-Spanish ports. The port has three container facilities, of which two are public, TCV Stevedoring and Noatum Container Terminal Valencia. The third is MSC’s private terminal, MSCTV.
All are affected by the dispute in one way or another, while several more container lines are also caught up in the altercation as Noatum challenges the right of MSCTV to handle ships that are not controlled by the Geneva-headquartered line.
After trying to get the matter resolved without resorting to litigation, Noatum finally took legal action against Autoridad Portuaria de Valencia in April. Two further lawsuits will soon be lodged against APV as Noatum seeks to protect the rights of investors in public terminals.
At the heart of the case is the distribution of container traffic between the three Valencia terminals.
Noatum is challenging APV over the fact that MSCTV is handling non-MSC ships, in apparent contravention of the concession agreement.
Ships belonging to various MSC vessel-sharing agreement partners such as Maersk Line, Zim and Hamburg Süd and have been calling at MSCTV rather than the public terminals, according to Noatum.
That is why Noatum is so anxious to establish the legal position before the P3 trio begins operating a joint fleet. The target date is autumn, once all necessary regulatory clearances are obtained.
This dispute may, though, be particular to Valencia since most of the terminals linked to P3 members are common-user facilities, whereas MSCTV is a dedicated terminal.
Nevertheless, both Noatum and TCV want to clarify the rules as global alliances start to reshape the container shipping trades.
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