Meridian Port Services picks 2 awards at 5th Ghana Shippers Awards
Meridian Port Services, MPS has picked up two awards at the 5th edition of the Ghana Shippers Awards.
They comprise Excellence in Health, Safety, Environment and Quality award and special recognition award for rolling out an electronic data interchange backed by excellent computerised single management system.
As a result of that, Ghana can boast of improved capacity to serve the world’s largest containerised vessels to support the envisaged trade growth expected as a result of the AfCFTA.
The awards programme is to award those who have played defining roles in moving the shipping industry in Ghana forward and have demonstrated achievement across a wide variety of domains including sustainability, operational excellence and innovation.
Speaking at the awards, the CEO, Ghana Shippers Authority, Benonita Bismarck said her outfit will continue to promote and protect the interest of shippers.
She said the Shippers Authority has made significant strides in finding solutions to the challenges of shippers in Ghana and to make them not only efficient but also competitive.
“We have achieved this through innovative programs across the country in the form of trade facilitation, sensitization, trade advisory support and services among others. These efforts have yielded tangible results in the areas of trade compliance, capacity of shippers to manage their shipments and timely delivery of import and export cargoes.”
The Deputy Harbour Master in charge of logistics at the Port of Tema, Capt. Daniel Quartey who represented the Director General of GPHA, Michael Luguje spoke about the successes that have been achieved in the fight against piracy.
He said, “without the security of the maritime domain, ships will not call our ports but by the efforts of the Chief of Naval Staff and the support of the Minister and the Ghana Maritime Authority, we have the MMCC zone F housed here in Ghana at the castle which is helping us to ensure the ports are safe. Some years ago, the Gulf of Guinea was seen as the den of pirates. In quarter 1 of 2020, we had about 40 kidnappings, in 2022 it was zero.”
A deputy Minister of Transport, Frederick Obeng Adom revealed that government is fast tracking processes towards developing service standards in a bid to reduce cost of at the ports.
He said the ministry has taken note of shippers’ complaints including some arbitrary charges by some shipping service providers, demurrage-free counting days, working days and hours and arbitrary exchange rates by some shipping service providers. The deputy Minister said lasting solutions will be provided to solve these issues.
