The payments comprised Ghana Maritime Authority fees, Ghana Shippers’ Authority fees, corporate taxes, withholding taxes and Value Added Tax/National Health Insurance Levy (VAT/NHIL).

Data from the Ship-owners and Agents Association of Ghana (SOAAG) showed that the total workforce of the active 13 shipping lines were over 840.

The 840 employees are without those directly or indirectly linked to the shipping lines at the ports.

The Executive Secretary of the SOAAG, Ms Perpetua Osei Bonsu, told the GRAPHIC BUSINESS in Tema that apart from those directly employed in the industry, there were tens of thousands of people who indirectly depended on the shipping lines for their income.

“The contribution of the shipping lines to the development of the Ghanaian economy is enormous with the creation of jobs high among the list of benefits derived from the industry,” she stated.

Demurrage

Notwithstanding these impressive performances and statistics, many people do not see shipping lines in favourable terms.

Some people believe that the shipping lines operate as an enclave with few positive effects — meaning that few people in Ghana benefit from activities of the ship-owners in particular, while majority of the profits go offshore.

Ms Bonsu said that was not correct as shipping lines had giving back to society in various forms.

She thus called on players in the shipping business to forge together to help resolve the challenges facing the sector.

She mentioned rising demurrage as one of the challenges that also eat into the fortunes of the shipping lines.

Containerised cargo

Meanwhile, data from the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) show that 41 shipping lines were involved in the containerised cargo trade last year.

The cargo totaled 575,451 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU).

In 2016 alone, a total of 120 shipping lines and charterers participated in transporting the over 17.6 million tonnes of Ghana’s seaborne cargo (import and export) through the Ports of Tema and Takoradi.