The investigation conducted to determine whether the Act no 4054 was violated by Karadeniz Ro Ro İşletmesi A.Ş. was concluded.

The investigation was initiated within the framework of the re-examination of the file following the Council of State's annulment of the Competition Board decision dated 23.05.2007 and numbered 07-42/465-177.

During the investigation phase, it was examined whether Cenk Denizcilik Grubu and Ulusoy Martı Ro Ro İşletmeleri A.Ş., operating in the Samsun-Novorossisky line, violated the Act no 4054 by establishing Karadeniz Ro Ro İşletmesi A.Ş. to work on the same line and by the implementation of exorbitant prices by this newly-established company.

Following the discussion of the file by the Competition Board on 21.05.2013, Karadeniz Ro Ro İşletmesi A.Ş. was characterized as a cooperation creating a joint venture under article 4 of the Act no 4054. However, an individual exemption was granted to the Protocol concerning the establishment and operations of the company since it fulfilled all of the conditions listed in article 5.1 of the same Act.

It was decided that the relevant practices of Karadeniz Ro Ro İşletmesi A.Ş. concerning exorbitant pricing could not be seen as an abuse of dominant position under article 6 of the Act no 4054 and that, therefore, imposing an administrative fine on the relevant undertaking under article 16 of the Act was not necessary.

Click here for the text of the pronouncement (in Turkish), dated 21.05.2013 and numbered 13-29/402-179, the reasoned decision for which will be notified later and which can be appealed before Ankara Administrative Courts.