The EU has a coastline twice that of Russia and three times that of the US so it is acutely aware of maritime safety and environmental issues.
During the 1970s, a number of attempts were made to develop laws in particular areas such as liner conferences, the environment and pilotage.
On 22 December 1986, the Council of Ministers adopted four Regulations which lay the foundations for most of EC shipping law.
Competition law is the set of legal rules designed to ensure freedom or rivalry in the marketplace.
Many other countries such as Singapore, Japan and China, in an effort to prevent destructive competition, are allowing price-setting immunity of liner conferences.