The marine hose cartel was a cartel of six international suppliers of marine hoses (rubber hoses used to load or unload oil tankers in marine transfer operations). The cartel existed at least from 1986 and was uncovered in 2006, when one of the member companies provided information to authorities. The cartel operated by price fixing, bid rigging and market allocation. In 2009, the European Union imposed total fines of 131 million Euros on the member companies; one of these fines was later reduced by 19 million Euros by the courts. By 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice had also levied fines of $12.3 million against four of the companies. Several individuals involved in the cartel received prison sentences in the UK and the US.