Glossary
Terms & Glossaries of Shipping and Trading
Conference
An association of ocean common carriers permitted, pursuant to an approved or effective agreement, to engage in concerted activity and to utilise a common tariff.
Defined in the 1984 Shipping Act as: ... an association of ocean common carriers permitted, pursuant to an approved or effective agreement, to engage in concerted activity and to utilise a common tariff; but the term does not include a joint service, consortium, pooling, sailing or transshipment arrangement. It is basically a group of steamship companies offering equitable freight rates, standardised shipping practices and regularly scheduled services between designated ports. These arrangements are given anti-trust immunity as authorised by the 1984 Shipping Act.
