UPDATE 1-EU fines marine hose cartel 131.5 mln euros

(Adds companies' reaction)

By Marcin Grajewski

BRUSSELS Jan 28 (Reuters) - European Union competition authorities fined a group of marine hose producers led by Japan's Bridgestone Corp (5108.T) 131.5 million euros ($173 million) on Wednesday, saying they had run a global cartel.

The European Commission said the firms -- including Sweden's Trelleborg (TRELb.ST), British-based Dunlop Oil and Marine Ltd, a unit of Germany's Continental Group AG (CONG.DE); Parker ITR Srl and Italy's Manuli Rubber Industries SpA -- fixed prices and exchanged sensitive information between 1986 and 2007.

"I will not tolerate illegal cartels and will continue to impose heavy fines on those companies found guilty of this kind of serious malpractice," EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement.

Japan's Yokohama Rubber Co (5101.T) had revealed the cartel and so avoided a fine under the Commission's leniency programme for whistle-blowers.

The Commission, executive arm of the 27-country European Union, fined Bridgestone 58.5 million euros. The company said last year it would pull out of the marine hose market after U.S. investigators arrested a staff member during an inquiry into bid rigging and price fixing.

Parker ITR, based in Italy and the United States, is to pay 25.6 million euros, Trelleborg 24.5 million, Dunlop Oil and Marine 18 million and Manuli 4.9 million.

Bridgestone and Trelleborg said they needed to study the Commission's decision before deciding whether to appeal.

"We will take appropriate actions after examining the full text of the decision which will be sent to us later. We will also separately announce the impact on our financial results," Bridgestone said in a statement.

Marine hose is a flexible rubber pipe used to transfer oil between tankers and storage facilities. The Commission said the market was worth about 32 million euros annually between 2004 and 2006.

The EU executive said officials from the companies concerned had met secretly to fix prices, allocate bids and markets and exchange sensitive information.

"These meetings took place in several locations in Europe, East Asia and the U.S. Cartel members referred to some markets as their 'private markets' and agreed upon a dozen or so pages of detailed 'cartel rules'," the statement said.

The Commission decides on fines taking into account sales of the companies involved, market share and the geographical scope of the cartel agreements.

It reduced Manuli's fine by 30 percent because of the company's cooperation in the investigation.

Fines for Bridgestone and Parker were increased by 30 percent "because of their leadership of the cartel".

Some staff of Trelleborg, Dunlop Oil and Marine and Bridgestone have been arrested in the United States, where price fixing is a crime. (Editing by Dale Hudson)