The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) has opened a sanctioning file to the company Bahía de las Isletas, parent company of Naviera Armas, understanding that it has breached the commitments it assumed so that the purchase of Trasmediterránea in 2018 was authorized.
In a statement, the CNMC recalls that the absorption of Trasmediterránea by Armas "created a monopoly in maritime traffic of passengers on the route between the peninsula and the Canary Islands", in addition to raising "risks for competition in maritime transport of cargo and passengers on the routes between the south of the peninsula and Melilla and inter-island Canary, since a relevant competitor disappeared".
However, it adds, the commitments presented by Naviera Armas solved these competition problems, since they allowed a third company (FRS) to begin providing maritime transport services for passengers and cargo on the routes where Naviera Armas was present (Motril-Melilla and Huelva-Canary Islands, a circular route that would allow it to provide inter-island traffic).
For this, it was planned that Naviera Armas and FRS would sign charter contracts for three years (extendable for one year), and a series of obligations that would allow FRS to operate effectively on those routes.
This implied transfer of use of moorings, ticket issuing system, abstention from use of brand and communication to customers.
In addition, to guarantee the effectiveness of these contracts, clauses were included that obliged to inform the CNMC and prevented modifying the conditions without prior authorization.
The CNMC details that already on September 13, 2023, this state agency "declared that Naviera Armas had breached part of the commitments accepted in 2018".
The Commission recalls that the initiation of this file does not prejudge the final result of the investigation, which must be resolved within three months.
The economic burden that implied the absorption of Trasmediterránea and the stoppage of maritime routes for months that implied the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 led Naviera Armas to a compromised financial situation that has transformed its shareholding.
Only 6% in the hands of the Armas family
After requesting the support of the State through the Official Credit Institute, Armas reached an agreement in April 2023 with the entities holding its bonds by which these became the new majority shareholders of the company, with 94% of the capital, while the remaining 6% remained in the hands of the Armas family, its founder.
Two years earlier, in 2021, Armas had already sold to the Grimaldi Group the ships and terminals with which Trasmediterránea had been operating on the maritime lines between the Balearic Islands and the peninsula.
