World Shipping Council Narrows Carrier Cooperation Agreement After FMC Investigation
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The World Shipping Council has filed a substantially rewritten carrier-cooperation agreement with the Federal Maritime Commission following a year-long FMC examination of where joint activity among major liner companies can receive protection under the Shipping Act. Amendment No. 201349-008 was filed October 2 and is scheduled to take effect November 16, 2026. The FMC says the amendment “amends and restates” the agreement following its March 6 Order on Investigation and September 25 Order to Conclude Investigation. The rewrite draws a much clearer boundary between WSC's ordinary trade-association, regulatory and policy advocacy, which the new agreement expressly places outside the Shipping Act filing, and operational cooperation that remains within the FMC-filed arrangement. The agreement still covers 21 carrier-party groups whose operations were described by the FMC in March as accounting for about 90% of global liner vessel services.
The rewrite draws a new line between carrier advocacy and carrier cooperation
WSC can still coordinate defined operational safety, environmental and infrastructure work under the filed agreement. Broad policy and regulatory advocacy is now expressly separated from that framework.
General policy positions on antitrust law and exemptions are no longer a standalone Article 5 authority.
The former category covering treaties, taxation and trade policy has been removed from the filed operational agreement.
Article 2 now expressly says trade-association, regulatory and policy work is outside the Shipping Act/FMC agreement.
Emissions, fuels, recycling, cold ironing, ballast water, energy efficiency and sensitive-region operations remain covered.
Ports, terminals, inland operations, cargo-processing infrastructure and canal operations remain within Article 5.
Dangerous goods, vessel fires, lost containers, piracy, crew security, automation and navigation technology remain covered.
The agreement still says carriers may not discuss or agree on vessel capacity to be deployed or the terms and conditions under which they provide ocean transportation to customers.
Carrier cooperation continues within the defined operational scope, subject to voluntary participation, independent action and restrictions on commercially sensitive information.
The Rewrite: What Stayed, What Moved, What Disappeared
| Cooperation Area | Previous Agreement | FMC March Position | October Rewrite | Practical Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental / Climate | Vessel emissions, alternative fuels, recycling, cold ironing, ballast water and related matters. | FMC said these activities were likely within the proper bounds of a filed operational agreement. | Retained as new Article 5.1(a). | Carriers can continue voluntary operational cooperation on environmental and vessel-efficiency topics. | Retained |
| Competition / Antitrust Policy | Standalone authority to discuss competition laws, antitrust laws and exemptions for liner cooperation. | FMC found the category outside the proper scope of the filed agreement. | Removed from Article 5. | WSC can continue ordinary advocacy, but that activity is no longer framed as Shipping Act carrier cooperation under this filing. | Removed |
| International Treaties / Trade Policy | Positions on treaties, taxes, tariffs and international trade laws. | FMC ordered the category cancelled from the filed agreement. | No equivalent standalone operational category remains. | General WSC policy work is separated from the FMC agreement. | Removed |
| Infrastructure / Supply Chain | Government requirements concerning ports, terminals, infrastructure, inland operations, canals and supply-chain fluidity. | FMC said the area might qualify but required further justification. | Retained in streamlined Article 5.1(b). | Defined operational discussion concerning infrastructure and cargo movement remains within the filed agreement. | Retained / Narrowed |
| Safety / Security | Dangerous cargo, lashing, piracy, fires, lost containers, automation, navigation technology and related issues. | FMC said safety/security was likely operational and properly included. | Retained and reorganized as Article 5.1(c). | This becomes the agreement's most detailed carrier-cooperation section. | Retained |
| Seafarer Safety Data | Not expressed as broadly in the earlier structure. | Safety-related operational collaboration fell within the category FMC viewed most favorably. | New language expressly permits databases and data-visualization tools on seafarer well-being, safety and security. | Shared safety analytics are allowed subject to commercially-sensitive information restrictions. | Expressly Authorized |
| Dangerous-Goods Screening | WSC could develop best practices, common digital screening tools, compliance databases and incident databases. | Safety/security cooperation was treated as closely tied to operations. | Detailed authorization survives in Article 5.1(c). | Booking documents may be screened through third-party systems, while direct carrier-to-carrier exchange of booking data is restricted. | Retained |
| General IT / Digital Standards | Separate category covered government requirements involving IT, data submissions, eBLs and transportation documents. | FMC said this category required additional justification. | No equivalent standalone IT category appears in the rewritten Article 5. | Specific safety-related digital tools survive, but broad IT-policy coordination is no longer separately authorized here. | Narrower Scope |
| Trade-Association Activities | Article 6 and Article 5.1(g) expressly brought certain association activities inside the filed agreement. | FMC found the category outside the scope of §40301(a)(5). | Former Article 6 is removed; Article 2 now puts policy work outside this Shipping Act agreement. | Regulatory advocacy and operational cooperation are formally separated. | Removed From Filing |
| Vessel Capacity | Expressly prohibited from carrier discussion or agreement. | Not challenged because the agreement already excluded it. | The prohibition remains in Article 5.4. | Carriers cannot use this agreement to coordinate how much capacity they deploy. | Still Prohibited |
| Customer Commercial Terms | Expressly prohibited from carrier discussion or agreement. | Outside the cooperation granted under this arrangement. | The prohibition remains in Article 5.4. | Freight terms and conditions offered to customers remain outside the agreement's authority. | Still Prohibited |
Booking data can be analyzed through a common third-party dangerous-goods tool without being exchanged directly among carriers.
The agreement repeatedly conditions shared safety databases on avoiding exchange of commercially sensitive information.
Parties remain free to act independently and are not bound by common positions or voluntary best practices.
WSC Carrier-Cooperation Boundary Checker
Select a type of carrier collaboration to see how it fits within the rewritten October agreement.
Common dangerous-goods screening remains expressly authorized.
Article 5.1(c) allows voluntary common digital solutions for dangerous-goods screening, including third-party analysis of booking information and documentation.
Booking information cannot be exchanged directly among participating carriers, participation must remain voluntary and each carrier remains free to use its own system.
“The rewritten WSC agreement preserves voluntary common tools for dangerous-goods screening under specified data-sharing safeguards.”
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