F1Subject to the provisions of this Regulation, the following activities of a consortium are exempt from the Chapter 1 prohibition:

1. 1.

   the joint operation of liner shipping services including any of the following activities:

   1. (a)

      the coordination and/or joint fixing of sailing timetables and the determination of ports of call;

   2. (b)

      the exchange, sale or cross-chartering of space or slots on vessels;

   3. (c)

      the pooling of vessels and/or port installations;

   4. (d)

      the use of one or more joint operations offices;

   5. (e)

      the provision of containers, chassis and other equipment and/or the rental, leasing or purchase contracts for such equipment;

2. 2.

   capacity adjustments in response to fluctuations in supply and demand;

3. 3.

   the joint operation or use of port terminals and related services (such as lighterage or stevedoring services);

4. 4.

   any other activity ancillary to those referred to in points 1, 2 and 3 which is necessary for their implementation, such as:

   1. (a)

      the use of a computerised data exchange system;

   2. (b)

      an obligation on members of a consortium to use in the relevant market or markets vessels allocated to the consortium and to refrain from chartering space on vessels belonging to third parties;

   3. (c)

      an obligation on members of a consortium not to assign or charter space to other vessel-operating carriers in the relevant market or markets except with the prior consent of the other members of the consortium.

The exemption provided for in Article 3 shall not apply to a consortium which, directly or indirectly, in isolation or in combination with other factors under the control of the parties, has as its object:

1. 1.

   the fixing of prices when selling liner shipping services to third parties;

2. 2.

   the limitation of capacity or sales except for the capacity adjustments referred to in Article 3(2);

3. 3.

   the allocation of markets or customers.