Brussels, 03/09/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has announced that it carried out surprise inspections, on 3 September, at the premises of several ferry-boat operators in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. The inspections were carried out in collaboration with the national competition authorities. The Commission suspects the companies in question of having concluded market sharing agreements and implementing other illegal practices in order to close the Nordic ferry-boat transport market to competitors. At the same time, the Commission points out that it has carried out the same kind of inspection in the premises of several operators specialised in cross-Channel transport. Some evidence makes it believe there are practices aimed at price fixing and commercial agreements between operators, as well as market sharing agreements in the cross-Channel ferry boat service, to and from the United Kingdom. The Commission specifies that inquiries are at a very early stage and do not prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself.