SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's corporate regulator said on Friday it has charged Norwegian shipping company, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean AS (WWO) with criminal cartel conduct.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the charges relate to the shipping of vehicles to Australia between June 2011 and July 2012.
"This is the third prosecution involving an international shipping company engaging in alleged cartel conduct where criminal charges have been laid under the Competition and Consumer Act," ACCC Chair Rod Sims said in an emailed statement.
The company could not be reached immediately for comment.
Earlier this month Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha <9107.T> was convicted of working with other shipping companies to fix prices on the transportation of cars, trucks, and buses to Australia between 2009 and 2012.
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha was fined A$34.5 million ($23.30 million) as a result.
In July 2016, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha pleaded guilty to criminal cartel conduct. The company was fined A$25 million.
($1 = 1.4806 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Richard Borsuk and Richard Pullin)
