Liner shipping has been for a long time an activity regulated by cartels: the maritime conferences, which were not confronted with any serious competition. But the development of containerisation has stimulated the entry of aggressive competitors which have acquired large market shares, so that conferences are not able any more to control the industry. In this paper, we anaiyse the present degree of market contestability and, as most European shipping companies are conference members, we consider what should be the attitude of European governments towards an evolution which could lead to the destruction of conferences.