Global Shippers’ Forum welcomes SL reforms
View(s):The Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) has welcomed the recent intervention by the Sri Lankan government in introducing reforms to ensure fair trading practices.
In response to protracted lobbying by the Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council to address unfair trade practices prevailing in the shipping industry in Sri Lanka over many years, the government acted to strengthen the powers of the Director General of Merchant Shipping to deal with anti-competitive practices, unfair charges and to create greater transparency into shipping charges, the grouping said in a media statement.
Chris Welsh, Secretary-General of the Global Shippers’ Forum said, “The proposed Sri Lanka reforms are likely to be a catalyst for wider demands, especially in the developing world, for greater regulatory oversight of liner shipping and shipping charging practices where anti-trust exemptions remain in place. In the absence of effective competition in many regions of the world, there is a growing belief that tougher controls on liner shipping are needed to regulate carrier practices relating to freight tariffs to provide much needed transparency into shipping charges and surcharges.”