The SRRS team was required to identify the desirable next step in liner shipping rate rationalization and liberalization, with the expectation of implementing the step during 1991. It was evident that the most effective way to achieve rationalization, and one that had not recently been fully addressed, was to adopt a fundamental approach-in other words, to determine as accurately as possible the cost of operating the service, include the permissible rate of return, and compute the corresponding cost per ton of cargo, or per passenger, for comparison with the prevailing tariff.