Ship owners have begun talks with port authorities to seek a reduction of what they describe as high anchorage charges for Ship to Ship Services at the Ports.
The shippers are worried the high charges for trans-shipment services have rendered the country’s ports uncompetitive, forcing members to do business in neighboring countries.
Currently, a 45,000 tonnage vessel is charged about US$1,500 every 14 days for a transshipment operations at a Togolese port.
But the same vessel will cost about US$675 per day in Ghana’s ports, for the same services.
Transshipment is when a ship offloads goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and later to another destination.
Vice Chair of the Ghana Ship Owners and Agents Association, Adam Imoro Ayana lamented on the outrageous charges.
According to him, “those who come into the country want to make sure that the country is market oriented, service oriented, as well as cost effective. So the situation in Ghana is worrying.”
Currently, Ghana’s charges are said to be based on tonnage of the vessel.
Mr. Imoro Ayana disclosed that the situation is driving away businesses to neighboring countries as huge vessels from Lome prefer to do quick turnaround, redistribution and go back.
He also disclosed that the country is recording just few vessels coming in from, Abidjan and Liberia due to the situation.
Mr. Imoro Ayana noted that “when your port is not competitive, it becomes a second fiddle to other ports in the sense that people use alternative ports.”
He assured that the Association is engaging authorities at the Tema port to have their grievances addressed.
CBN
