Shippers Authority Vows to Crack Whip on Shipping Lines that Defy New BoG Forex Directive

The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has taken a firm stance against shipping lines that continue to impose unapproved foreign exchange rates on clients.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Authority, Prof. Ransford Gyampo, has pledged that serious sanctions will be meted out to shipping lines that fail to comply with the new BoG directive.

This commitment follows a landmark directive from the Bank of Ghana (BoG), issued on July 22, 2025, which mandates transparent and standardized forex pricing at ports across Ghana.

After several agitations by importers on the exorbitant forex rates charged by shipping lines, which were not reflective of the market rates, the BoG, through the directive, sought to address the situation.

According to the BoG’s directive, all shipping firms and port service providers are now required to, among other things, publish daily forex rates publicly (websites or offices), disclose rates to customers before invoicing, align their rates with BoG interbank benchmarks, and clearly itemize currency, rate used, date, and cedi equivalent on invoices

These guidelines aim to eliminate the unpredictability that importers and freight forwarders have faced due to wide variations in currency conversion, which raised the cost of doing business.

With this new directive, GSA CEO Prof. Ransford Gyampo confirmed that the Authority is prepared to punish any shipping line that ignores the directive.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the inauguration of the governing board of the Shippers Authority, the CEO maintained that shipping lines that defy the new directive will be dealt with in accordance with the laws that establish the authority.

This regulatory push is expected to rein in the informal “two-tier” forex system that has distorted port pricing and weakened the positive signals sent by recent cedi stabilization efforts.

The impact, if this new directive is properly enforced, could be highly positive for businesses and individuals.

For importers, whether moving agricultural machinery, pharmaceutical supplies, or consumer goods, this development can significantly reduce cost unpredictability, aid budgeting, and lower the overall cost of imports.

That translates into more stable pricing for traders and consumers alike.

The directive is in effect, and enforcement is underway; the shipping sector is entering a critical compliance test. If the GSA backs its enforcement promise and BoG sustains its regulatory oversight, the ripple effect may help restore confidence in Ghana’s formal forex ecosystem and ease a key business bottleneck.

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