This is a follow up to my report of 17 September 2007. On the 1st July 2008 the Commission issued final Guidelines on the application of Article 81 EC to maritime transport services. http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/antitrust/legislation/maritime/ By virtue of Council Regulation 1419/2006, three fundamental changes were introduced in the maritime transport services market in the EU related trades. First, block exemption for liner conferences was repealed (for the existing conferences, as of 18 October 2008). This means that liner shipping service providers are no longer allowed to create legitimate cartels which fix tariff rates, share markets and restrict capacity. Should liner carriers…