Mitsui OSK Merges Group Companies

By Mark Edward Nero

International shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines on Oct. 1 announced the merger of two subsidiaries, maritime consulting firm MOL Marine Consulting, Ltd. and ship management company MOL Cable Ship Ltd., effective immediately.

The new company, called MOL Marine Co. Ltd., will be based in Tokyo and is expected to continue to develop the businesses established by its two predecessors. According to MOL, the merger will integrate both companies’ expertise in marine technology and ship management.

Mitsui OSK, which is headquartered in Japan, now has more than a dozen subsidiaries, including the International Container Terminal in Tokyo, Trans Pacific Container Service (TraPac), which operates terminals at the Los Angeles and Oakland ports; and International Marine Transport Co., which manages seafarers.

At the same time it announced the merger, the company revealed improvements to one of its two bridge simulators. The simulator was upgraded with an enlarged screen that replicates the field of vision from the bridge as well as the addition of a Dynamic Positioning System (DPS).

MOL says the upgraded simulator, which mimics a vessel equipped with DPS, can simulate any situation and provide practical training in that situation.

Mitsui OSK Lines and Affiliate Fined $1.2 Million

By Mark Edward Nero

Japan-based vessel-operating common carrier Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and its corporate affiliate, Nissan Motor Car Carrier Co. (NMCC), have reached an agreement with the Federal Maritime Commission to settle charges that they engaged in violations of the Shipping Act.

MOL and NMCC operate pure car carriers (PCCs) and roll on/roll off (ro/ro) vessels in US inbound and outbound trades.

The agreement resolves allegations that MOL and NMCC violated section 10(a) of the Shipping Act by acting with other ocean common carriers regarding the shipment of automobiles and other motorized vehicles by ro/ro or specialized car carrier vessels, where such agreements had not been filed with the Commission or been effective under the Shipping Act.

The compromise also addressed related activities and violations arising under such carrier agreements. The Commission alleged that the practices persisted over several years and involved numerous U.S. trade lanes.

Under the agreement, MOL agreed to pay $1,275,000 in penalties and agreed to provide ongoing cooperation with other Commission investigations or enforcement actions with respect to these activities, but weren’t required to admit to violations of the Shipping Act.

This is the second public announcement in recent months of Commission enforcement action against parties who fail to file carrier agreements. In December 2013, a different compromise was announced under which two Tokyo-based companies – K Line and NYK Line – paid $1.1 million and $1.2 million, respectively, in penalties for similar Shipping Act violations.