The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) has mounted fresh pressure on the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) to crack down on shipping lines allegedly flouting a legally binding directive that caps the Container Administrative Charge (CAC) at GH¢720 per Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU).
The Association says the continued imposition of charges far above the approved cap, despite a High Court ruling affirming the GSA’s regulatory authority, amounts to a direct challenge to Ghana’s legal and regulatory framework.
In a strongly worded statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Samson Asaki Awingobit, the Association described the conduct of some shipping lines as economic sabotage, arguing that it undermines both the authority of the regulator and the country’s judicial system.
Despite the court’s decision, the Association says evidence in its possession indicates that some major shipping lines continue to levy charges several times higher than the approved rate.
“Regrettably, evidence available to the Association, including invoices issued by major shipping lines such as PIL and MSC, indicates that some operators continue to impose excessive and unjustifiable charges in blatant disregard of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority’s directive.”
“For instance, Pacific International Lines (PIL) charged an importer GH¢4,000.00 as a Container Release Order fee on a single 40-foot container, while MSC Ghana Limited charged GH¢3,870.46 as an Administrative Import Fee for a single 40HC container.
“These amounts are more than five times the approved Container Administrative Charge of GH¢720 per Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) and constitute a clear violation of the Authority’s lawful directive and the provisions of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority Act, 2024 (Act 1122).”
The IEAG argues that the latest developments expose longstanding weaknesses in the regulation of Ghana’s commercial shipping industry.
For the Association, shipping lines have for years imposed arbitrary administrative charges that have significantly increased the cost of doing business at Ghana’s ports, with the financial burden ultimately passed on to importers, exporters and consumers.
It further contends that continued non-compliance reflects what it describes as years of weak enforcement and a kid gloves approach by successive regulators.
The Association maintains that Parliament enacted the Ghana Shippers’ Authority Act, 2024 (Act 1122), specifically to strengthen regulatory oversight and protect users of shipping services from such practices.
Among the measures being demanded are:
- Immediate enforcement proceedings against shipping lines charging above the approved GH¢720 Container Administrative Charge.
- An application to the High Court under Section 47 of Act 1122 to compel compliance.
- The imposition of all available regulatory sanctions.
- Refunds of all excess charges collected from importers and exporters since the directive took effect.
- Publication of the names of defaulting shipping lines in the interest of transparency and accountability.
“The Authority cannot afford to remain silent while regulated entities openly defy its directives,” the statement concluded, warning that failure to enforce the directive would send a dangerous signal that regulatory decisions can be ignored without consequence.
The controversy follows a ruling delivered by the High Court on 10 July 2026, which dismissed an application filed by the Ship Owners and Agents Association of Ghana (SOAAG) and others seeking to halt the implementation of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority’s Regulatory Directive issued on May 11, 2026.
