The Ship Owners and Agents Association of Ghana (SOAAG) has refuted accusations by freight forwarders and traders that shipping companies were violating Bank of Ghana (BoG) regulations by charging for their services in US dollars.

Adam Imoru Ayarna, executive member of SOAAG, responded to some concerns raised by freight forwarders, noting that “there is a distinction between pricing something in dollars and charging in dollars.”

Ayarna clarified that such accusations must be understood in the right context.

He explained that freight does not constitute income of the local agency but is collected on behalf of a foreign principal based on its contract with the shipper.

“When it comes to freight, it will be set at a certain rate and charged in dollars; containers do not belong to shipping agents; this income is for the principal. I provide you with this container, and that is what I will charge for it. It comes to Ghana and the law requires us to charge cedis to Ghana. If it is not pegged to the dollar, how will it be converted into an exchange rate? That’s why I say pricing something in dollars and charging in dollars are two separate things,” he added.

He questioned how the Bank of Ghana would determine the value of the country’s imports if it did not use exchange rates to convert it, stressing that some measure had to be used for the conversion.

“If I am a trader and I bought something and I come back to buy it, will I use the cedi? I have to use a specific rate to convert it to determine how much to buy,” he emphasized.

Regarding compliance with the provisions of the Fifth Regulation of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority Regulations, 2012 (LI 2190) on negotiation of charges, SOAAG noted that the setting of rates is carried out independently by the shipping companies.

The regulation requires GSA to negotiate on behalf of shippers with associations of shipping service providers, shipowners, shipping companies and agents, port charges, terminal and shore handling charges, charges freight consolidators and receiving fees, among others.

“We have made it clear that when it comes to setting rates by different shipping agents, this is done independently as each has a different cost base. So how could their association, SOAAG, and stakeholders negotiate with GSA on their behalf? “” he questioned.

The SOAAG executive member said that just as the GSA does not group shipping companies in negotiations for cocoa freight under “Cocoa Freight Negotiation”, this allows each shipping line to engage independently on its cost base, its organization cannot negotiate on behalf of companies.

Ayarna said the association could discuss the principles of shipping, saying “if the lines don’t adhere to the principles, we can fix it; everyone is a legal, private entity, but if there are excessive fees it will be obvious. Shipping is a business of integrity and, ultimately, the shipping company also takes the end consumer into account. So when problems arise, dialogue is necessary.

He added that from their perspective, when charges were made, they first went to the line in charge and inquired about the reasoning behind the charges, especially if it was a new charge or of an increase.

He explained that there was an agreement that when shipping companies increased their local incident charges (which is happening in Ghana), they were required to notify the market, their customers and the GSA simultaneously.

“No shipping company can charge fees without informing customers using its service. Therefore, in the field of shipping, there is a minimum period of 30 days to notify customers in the event of an emergency, but this is usually three months’ notice.

“Therefore, GSA is notified, and if it has any concerns or disagreements, it must promptly contact the shipping company for clarification, and the shipping company is obligated to respond, and this has happened. Shipping Companies inform GSA and customers of any increase in service level and provide explanations for the change,” he concluded.