Sri Lanka bans container lines from charging THCs from 2014

In a victory for the Sri Lankan Shippers’ Council (SLSC), which has lobbied for the abolition of THCs since the late 1990’s, Sri Lanka’s president Mahinda Rajapaksa announced in his recent budget speech to the country’s parliament that THCs would be banned from January 2014.

“In order to prevent the monopoly of pricing in the shipping trade, no shipping line will be permitted to levy terminal handling and other charges in addition to freight and specified international charges for containersised cargo. Relevant prohibition will be made effective through amendments to the finance act, effective January 2014.

Asian Shippers’ Council (ASC) chairman John Lu said: “We take our hats off to SLSC for their key role in fighting for the removal of terminal handling charges.”

The ASC and shippers’ councils throughout have long fought against the levying of THCs by container lines which they say are used to artificially increase freight rates.

“We look forward to the day when the rest of us in Asia only need to pay an all-in rate,” Lu said.