The Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA) has served notice it will certain fees imposed on shipments without its approval.
It stated, for instance, that some shipping lines imposed war risk surcharges on shipments even before the tensions in the Middle East escalated.
“This is currently being investigated, and we assure the shipping public that where there are breaches and unfair treatments, we would forcefully address them,” the Authority said in a press release on Wednesday, March 11.
It also reiterated that it has not imposed any surcharges on any shipments on behalf of shipping companies.
“It must be clearly stated that the Ghana Shippers’ Authority has not and does not impose surcharges on shipments on behalf of Shipping Lines.
“The Authority regulates charges of Shipping Service Providers to ensure fairness, protection of the interest of the Ghanaian consumer and reduction in the cost of doing business.”
This follows the reports of the surcharges by freight forwarders.
The Authority clarified that as a result of the Middle East war, several major shipping lines have introduced war risk and emergency conflict surcharges.
“These charges are intended to offset the significant increase in operational risks and costs associated with
navigating high-risk maritime areas.”
It indicated that these charges will automatically increase the overall cost on imports into Ghana, particularly for goods originating from Asia and Middle East.
Therefore, it urged local shippers to brace up for higher freight rates and shipping costs, longer transit times due to vessel rerouting, supply chain disruptions for certain commodities, possible increase in landed cost of imported goods, delays in vessel availability and changes to shipping schedules.