The Federal Court of Australia has agreed that Patrick Stevedores and DP World pay a fine of $1.9 million each for making an arrangement that was likely to have lessened competition in the market for automotive terminal services.
But Federal Court judge Peter Jacobson noted in his judgement on Friday that Patrick and DP World made no admissions - and the court made no findings - of the actual effect of the arrangement on competition.
Patrick Stevedores is now part of ports and rail operator Asciano Group.
The breaches of the Trade Practices Act that resulted in the fines took place between September 2001 and November 2002, before Patrick was part of Asciano.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had claimed that Patrick and various companies within the P&O Group, now owned by DP World, had entered into arrangements that had the purpose or effect, or likely effect, of substantially lessening competition in markets for the supply of automotive terminals at ports in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Former Patrick boss Chris Corrigan, Australian Amalgamated Terminals (a joint venture between Patrick and P&O) director Donald Smithwick, and P&O directors Andrew Burgess and Timothy Blood were said to have aided and abetted or been involved in the contraventions.
The court dismissed charges against each of the four men but ordered that they bear their own costs of the proceedings.
The various parties had agreed upon orders, which they had wished the court to make in order to end the proceedings.
Patrick and P&O had provided to the court a agreed statement of facts, under which Patrick and P&O admitted that from about August 2001 they moved to provide access to each other's automotive terminals in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and to form a joint venture to operate the facilities.
Patrick and P&O admitted that this was likely to substantially lessen competition but made no admissions on the purpose of their conduct or the actual effect.
Justice Jacobson noted in his judgement that the conduct was of Patrick and P&O was "not clandestine".
"It was known in the market, and customers were informed of the arrangement when it was first contemplated," he said.
None of Patrick and P&O's customers had made any complaint.
"This is not to understate the seriousness of the conduct which has been admitted, but it does distinguish it from the clandestine behaviour which is at the heart of price-fixing cartels," Justice Jacobson said.
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