SINGAPORE, May 21 — A prominent Singapore shipping executive and six Chinese nationals have been accused by United States authorities of conspiring to fix global shipping container prices during the Covid-19 pandemic, in a case that allegedly fuelled soaring freight costs and generated massive profits for some of the world’s biggest container manufacturers.

According to court documents unsealed in the US on May 19, executives from several container manufacturing firms allegedly colluded from late 2019 to restrict the production of dry shipping containers, a move prosecutors said artificially drove up prices during the global supply chain crunch. The Straits Times (ST) first reported the case.

Among those named is Singapore shipping veteran Teo Siong Seng, chief executive of Singamas Container Holdings and executive chairman of Pacific International Lines (PIL). Teo also chairs the Singapore Business Federation and sits on Singapore’s Economic Resilience Taskforce.

The US Department of Justice alleged that executives from four major manufacturers met at China International Marine Containers’ (CIMC) headquarters in Shenzhen in November 2019 and agreed to limit production by reducing factory shifts, capping operating hours and monitoring compliance through video surveillance. Financial penalties were also allegedly introduced for firms that exceeded agreed quotas.

Court filings alleged that Singamas joined discussions shortly after, with one executive reportedly informing Teo that “all the (six) factories” would meet in Shanghai in December 2019 to discuss “production capacity and (the) healthy development of (the) container industry”.

The alleged agreement was formalised in February 2020 and signed the following month, according to the filings.

US prosecutors said the scheme contributed to a sharp rise in shipping container prices during the pandemic. Prices for standard 20-foot containers reportedly jumped from about US$1,600 (RM6,350) in 2019 to more than US$3,500 by 2021.

The Justice Department said profits at the manufacturers surged during the same period. CIMC’s container business reportedly saw profits leap from 137 million yuan in 2019 to 11.3 billion yuan in 2021, while Singamas swung from a US$110 million loss to a profit of nearly US$187 million.

The court documents also detailed alleged attempts to conceal the arrangement. In one December 2019 email exchange cited by prosecutors, Teo allegedly wrote that “we also need to keep low key” in response to reports about meetings between the companies. He also allegedly agreed to delete the email thread discussing the matter.

ST reported that one of the accused executives, Singamas marketing director Vick Ma, was arrested in France in April while attempting to board a flight to Hong Kong and is awaiting extradition to the US.

ST said it has contacted Teo and Singamas for comment.