Regulators are getting increasingly concerned about the abrupt and drastic surge in freight rates after a year in which global carriers reported substantial improvements in profitability.

The COMESA Competition Commission is investigating three container shipping companies: Maersk, CMA CGM, and United Africa Feeder Line (UAFL), for possible price violations, conspiring to raise rates.

In an official notice of investigation, COMESA noted, "It has come to the Commission's attention that shipping companies have issued pricing announcements that may breach the regulations," urging stakeholders to "submit representations on these allegations by April 30, 2022."

Maersk, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd, the three large shipping companies, had been reported in early March for price fraud by the United States in the investigation list. But the United States is not the only one to launch investigations into shipping companies and their shipping rates. In Africa, Maersk and CMA CGM also once again become the subject of the investigation.

The COMESA Competition Commission commenced its operations on the 14th of January 2013 and is a regional body corporate established under Article 6 of the COMESA Competition Regulations. In order to ensure fair competition and transparency among economic operators in the region, COMESA enacted the regional competition law and policy to harmonize existing national competition policies to avoid contradictions and provide a consistent regional economic environment.

According to a statement, the Commission has preliminary concerns that price announcements constitute a kind of coordinated behavior or concerted practice.

The Commission's CEO stated that they are investigating why shipping companies are boosting freight rates to the same level in such a short time.

Similar investigations have been conducted in the United States, Europe, and Oceania. The Competition Commission agreed to exchange information earlier this year, and the US Department of Justice said that it will enforce existing antitrust regulations against shipping alliances under the guidance of the Biden administration. A legislative panel in the United States has initiated an investigation into carrier tariff and pricing strategies, similar to the African investigation.

The first three major shipping companies to be investigated were Maersk, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd. Maersk acknowledged it had received a subpoena from the US Department of Justice in mid-March. The investigation's specifics have not been revealed, but it is thought to be tied to Biden's directives to the Department of Justice and the Federal Maritime Commission to ensure that existing antitrust restrictions are followed.

Shipping companies are experiencing unprecedented prosperity as freight prices rocket to new heights. Shipping prices have risen in numerous rounds since the breakout of the pandemic in 2020, and in the face of "sky-high freight rates," even if the government intervenes, both parties usually claim to be in the right.