Shipping Line to Refund Customers Over Wrongful Conflict Surcharge – GSA
The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) says customers wrongly charged an emergency conflict surcharge by global shipping line CMA CGM will receive refunds.
The GSA CEO, Prof. Ransford Gyampo, in an update shared on social media, disclosed that the disputed $1,000 “Emergency Conflict Surcharge” applied to some shipments was generated through the company’s global invoicing system before the escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
According to him, preliminary investigations by the Authority revealed that a global directive was issued to all CMA CGM shipping agencies to activate a War Clause Surcharge as part of their tariff structure.
However, the surcharge appears to have been triggered automatically by the shipping line’s centralised global billing system, which generates invoices for multiple markets through a shared service centre.
“Our investigations show that there was a global announcement to all CMA-CGM shipping agencies to invoke the War Clause Surcharge in their list of charges. The shipping lines use a shared centre where invoices are generated globally. The shared centre automated the system to generate the currently disputed cost line,” Prof. Gyampo said.
He added that the issue has now been identified as a system anomaly and is currently being corrected.
“All who have been surcharged would receive a refund from the shipping line,” he said.
The development follows ongoing scrutiny by the Ghana Shippers’ Authority into additional surcharges imposed by international shipping lines, particularly those linked to geopolitical tensions affecting global maritime routes.
In recent months, disruptions tied to conflicts in the Middle East and security risks along key shipping corridors have prompted several carriers to introduce war risk and emergency conflict surcharges to offset higher insurance, security and routing costs.
However, Ghanaian importers and exporters have raised concerns about the timing, transparency and justification for some of these charges, prompting the Authority to launch investigations to protect local businesses from unjustified fees.
Prof. Gyampo said the Authority will continue engaging shipping lines and monitoring charges applied to cargo destined for Ghana to ensure fair pricing and accountability within the country’s maritime trade sector.
