Qube Holdings Limited (Qube) - Melbourne International RoRo & Auto Terminal Pty Ltd (MIRRAT)

Summary

Qube Holdings Limited (Qube), through its wholly owned subsidiary Australian Amalgamated Terminals Pty Ltd (AAT), proposes to acquire the business and assets of Melbourne International RoRo & Auto Terminal Pty Ltd (MIRRAT) at the Port of Melbourne.

MIRRAT currently operates the Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) automotive terminal at Webb Dock West. Its ultimate parent company is Wallenius Wilhelmsen ASA, which is a global shipping and logistics provider.

AAT operates automotive cargo terminals at Fisherman Islands (QLD) and at Port Kembla (NSW), as well as a general cargo terminal at Appleton Dock at the Port of Melbourne (VIC).

Qube is Australia's largest integrated provider of import and export logistics services with national operations that provide a broad range of services across multiple aspects of import-export supply chains. Qube has the following relevant interests in the provision of automotive stevedoring and vehicle pre-delivery inspection services:

• Qube Ports (a wholly owned subsidiary and related entity of AAT) supplies automotive stevedoring services at the Port of Melbourne, and at other major capital city and regional ports.
• Qube has a 50 per cent shareholding in K Line Auto Logistics, which owns and operates Prixcar Services Pty Limited which provides pre-delivery inspection services for motor vehicles including at major Australian mainland ports.

Both AAT (Qube) and MIRRAT operate their terminals subject to court enforceable undertakings accepted by the ACCC. These undertakings require the parties not to discriminate between terminal users in favour of a related body corporate, to ring-fence confidential information of terminal users, to apply published and non-discriminatory berthing principles and to provide a right for certain stakeholders to refer price and non-price disputes to an independent expert.

On 10 April 2025, the ACCC decided not to oppose the proposed acquisition, subject to the ACCC accepting a court-enforceable undertaking from AAT, Qube and MIRRAT, (which will be owned by Qube post acquisition).

The existing MIRRAT Undertaking and AAT Undertaking will be replaced by the new undertaking (Undertaking) offered by Qube, AAT and MIRRAT when it comes into effect.

The Undertaking will apply to AAT’s automotive terminals at Port Kembla in NSW, Fisherman Islands in Queensland and Appleton Dock in Melbourne, as well as to MIRRAT’s operations at Webb Dock West in Melbourne. The new Undertaking is perpetual.

The ACCC had significant competition concerns because MIRRAT will be owned by Qube, which has ownership interests in the supply of downstream services in the supply chain for automotive cargo – namely, automotive stevedoring services (through Qube Ports) and pre-delivery inspection (PDI) services (through Prixcar).

The ACCC concluded that, in the absence of the Undertaking, Qube, through its ownership of MIRRAT, would likely have the ability and incentive to discriminate against rival stevedores and PDI providers at Webb Dock West, significantly impacting competition in the supply of these downstream services.

The ACCC decided not to oppose the acquisition having regard to the strong Undertaking offered by Qube, AAT and MIRRAT. The s87B Undertaking requires AAT and MIRRAT operate the automotive terminals on an open access basis and prevents the terminal operators from engaging in discriminatory or self-preferencing behaviour to the detriment of downstream rivals that compete with Qube Ports and Prixcar.

The ACCC will release a Public Competition Assessment in due course.