The Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) has expressed concern about the numerous administrative fees charged by foreign shipping lines in the country for services they do not render, which goes to increase the cost of transacting business in Ghanaian ports.

These include container administrative fees, container evacuation fees, container maintenance fees and container cleaning fees, which are pegged in dollars with some of the shipping lines even quoting exchange rates higher than the bank and forex bureau rates.

Mr Frank Sarpong, National President of GIFF told the GNA that the charges the shipping lines levy in Ghana are not applicable in Togo or any part of the world where the same lines operate.

He said when shippers pay for freight, port handling and terminal charges are inclusive so GIFF does not see why container administrative fees should be levied.

He explained that two shipping agents, Scanship and Ro Ro Services, which had container top lifters begun charging these fees in the 1980s when the port had no equipment after consultation with the Ghana Shippers Council, but the current situation at the port makes the charges unrealistic.

The fee was 20 dollars and 40 dollars respectively for 20 and 40 footer containers respectively, but this has since gone up by 100 percent and all the shipping lines are charging this fee, calling it container administrative fee although they are not providing such services.

He said, in the shipping industry, there is nothing like administrative charges but as a result of the "illegal" profit they make in Ghana, most shipping lines are rushing to establish offices here, instead of appointing agents.

Mr Sarpong expressed concern about the infiltration of foreign shipping lines into clearing and forwarding services even though the business is solely reserved for Ghanaians under Legislative Instrument (LI) 1178 and Custom House Agents Law SMCD 188 of 1978.

Mr Sarpong noted that ship owners, having established local offices in Ghana as agents to their mother companies, also sign contracts in such a way that they have to clear and deliver goods to the premises of the importer.

He said this "free for all" situation in the industry has endangered the work for indigenous Ghanaians and unless Custom House Agents marshal enough resources to match their strength, the foreign companies would kill local ones.

Mr Sarpong also expressed concern about the fate of local ship agents who were being thrown out of job by foreign shipping lines through the establishment of their own offices in the country.

Local ship agents derive income from commission on freight charges, husbandry services, call fees, stevedoring supervision and warehousing facilities, which are provided by the ship owner in foreign currencies.