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Stop charging 'killer tariffs' - Minister orders shipping lines

In a statement Friday, the Minister said: “Terminal Handling Charges (THC) cannot be introduced at the ports in Ghana as a local charge.”

 

He continued: “Terminal Handling Charges may be introduced as part of the freight payable by the shipper at the port of origin in accordance with the appropriate INCOTERMS.”

This follows a petition from the coalition of business representing a critical mass of shippers and traders in the country.

They include the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ghana National Chamber of Commerce (GNCC), Ghana Chamber of Mines, Federation of Associations of Ghanaian Exporters (FAGE), Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA) and the Greater Accra Regional Shippers Committee (GARSC).

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Shipping lines such as Pacific International Line (PIL), Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), CMA CGM, Arkas Lines and UASC want to impose an average $150 as a Terminal Handling Charge for 20-footer container and $265 for a 40-footer.

The Transport Ministry earlier ordered a temporary suspension of the THC which the shipping lines failed to comply.

In the petition to the ministry, the coalition said the "THC would cost the already burdened Ghanaian shippers over $78 million per year and, knowing the history of these local charges, this figure will definitely increase astronomically."

The directive to stop the THC follows a directive by the ministry to the Maritime Authority to constitute a committee to investigate claims of the shippers and traders.

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