The Ghana Shipping Authority has accused international shipping lines of deliberately resisting local regulatory oversight and escalating a long-running dispute over pricing practices and foreign exchange benchmarks at the country’s ports.
Ransford Gyampo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers Authority, said some foreign carriers operating in the West African nation are flouting legal requirements, refusing to submit their fees for approval, and bypassing guidelines meant to ensure transparency and uniformity in port charges.
“Some shipping lines do not want to be regulated,” Gyampo said in an interview. “Remember, these are foreign businesses that have come into our country to do business, but somehow, they want to do things on their own. But I have told them that it cannot happen under my watch.”
The comments follow fresh concerns from the Chamber of Freight and Trade, which on Wednesday flagged discrepancies in exchange rates used by shipping firms when calculating demurrage and port service charges. The Chamber claims the lack of a uniform rate framework has exposed importers to pricing distortions and planning difficulties.
“The shipping lines are not under any obligation to use the BoG rate. Some use interbank rates from their own banks. Others lock in a rate and review it monthly,” said Dennis Amfo Sefa, President of the Chamber. “This lack of uniformity creates serious challenges for importers.”
Shipping agents counter that their FX benchmarks reflect industry norms. The Ship Owners and Agents Association said in a statement that rates are typically tied to prevailing FX at the vessel’s port of origin at the time of departure, rather than the Bank of Ghana’s official reference rate.
Even so, Ghanaian authorities say shipping firms have consistently resisted attempts to impose clearer oversight and align practices with local law. Gyampo cited historical pushback on legislation requiring service charges to be vetted by the Ghana Shippers Authority.
“Even in the law that gives us the power to demand their service charges and to approve or otherwise, they fought with the Ghana Shippers Authority, Parliament, and even the president,” Gyampo said. “When it comes to the implementation of policies, they still drag their feet. But some of us are too patriotic to Ghana, so we will, and we will ensure that what the laws say is what we will do.”
Ghana, a key West African gateway for container and bulk trade, has been trying to strengthen local control over port pricing structures to reduce inefficiencies and improve the competitiveness of its trading environment. But efforts to enforce rate harmonization, particularly on demurrage, container deposits, and freight surcharges, have frequently met resistance.
Gyampo suggested that foreign firms were attempting to operate in Ghana under different standards than those enforced in their home countries. “In the countries where we went to go and study, we were given rules to work with. We didn’t say that because we were coming from Ghana, we would do things anyhow we please. But most of them do not want to comply with our laws.”
The dispute adds to broader concerns in Ghana’s maritime sector about the country’s ability to assert regulatory authority over foreign-dominated industries. Importers and freight forwarders have called for greater transparency and uniformity in port costs, warning that weak enforcement is undermining competitiveness and hurting small and medium enterprises already contending with high logistics costs and FX volatility.
