Mexico‘s Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) preliminarily determined the absence of effective competition in the maritime transportation of passengers and roll-on/roll-off cargo in Baja California Sur.

In this regard, the market is composed of two services.

Maritime transportation

Two primary services define this market: roll-on/roll-off cargo transportation (STMC) and maritime passenger transportation (STMP), both offered via ferries along fixed routes connecting mainland Mexico with Baja California Sur.

Roll-On/Roll-Off Cargo Service (STMC)

This service facilitates the transportation of vehicles and goods between destinations upon payment of a cargo-specific fee.

Maritime Passenger Transportation Service (STMP)

For passengers, ferry operators provide transportation on predefined routes under a maritime transportation contract. This includes the issuance of tickets and the payment of a passenger fare.

Key Routes and Ports

The main routes for these services are Pichilingue-Topolobampo and Pichilingue-Mazatlán. The related ports—Pichilingue, Topolobampo, and Mazatlán—are equipped with infrastructure, port facilities, and related services necessary for these operations. This infrastructure ensures the efficient provision of both STMC and STMP services.

Cofece

Only two companies -in a context of barriers to entry- offer maritime transportation services for roll-on/roll-off cargo on the routes connecting Baja California Sur with Sinaloa, and only one of them provides passenger transportation services.

If the sense of the Preliminary Ruling is confirmed, the regulatory authority of the sector will be able to establish the basis for tariff regulation in the services.

In the investigation, Cofece identified very high levels of concentration in maritime transportation services due to the fact that:

Only two companies (Transportación Marítima de California, S.A. de C.V. and Baja Ferries, S.A.P.I. de C.V.) have offered for several years the maritime transportation service of roll-on/roll-off cargo in both routes connecting Baja California Sur with Sinaloa. In addition, Baja Ferries is the only company that provides maritime passenger transportation on these routes.

There are barriers to entry that make it difficult for more competitors to enter in the future, such as high investment amounts, limits on the participation of foreign capital in shipping companies, and the lack of capacity of the port of Pichilingue to allow new competitors to enter under the same conditions as established companies.