Liner conferences involved ship owners who discussed sharing capacity, stabilized port fees, etc. They were legal in Europe until 2008. Ship owners claim that their role was benign, and only helped to stabilize prices by increasing efficiency. A recent investigation of shipping companies suggests that the EU believes that this practice continued after 2008 and hurt shippers. Ships are treated under a special maritime law in the US that permits them to swap loads to increase efficiency. The question is whether benign collaboration can be confirmed by ship owners ? Will costs go up in the absence of such collaboration ? Are the low prices during the downturn an indication of competitiveness of the industry ?