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The government on Thursday asked container shipping lines to be transparent in their levy of various charges and accept payment in free foreign exchange, in light of a global shortage of containers and soaring freight rates that have hurt traders across the country.
Officials said lack of transparency and arbitrary levy of charges may attract the attention of the Competition Commission of India.
Representatives from the container shipping industry in turn apprised the officials of steps already taken to tackle the shortage that include repositioning of containers as well as placing orders for new containers and container ships.
The issues were discussed in a meeting called by the commerce and industry ministry. It was attended by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, shipping secretary Sanjeev Ranjan and railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw apart from heads of port trusts, shipping lines, container operators and industry lobbying bodies.
The Covid-19 pandemic had led to a temporary closure of seaports across the world, leading to a glut of containers in some pockets and a massive shortage in others. Global container rates have surged more than sevenfold since last year. Since May, they have increased more than 60%.
“The non-availability of containers is delaying exports and some countries like China are encouraging imports of empty containers by offering a premium,” said another industry representative who attended the meeting, adding that suggestions were given on regulating empty containers similar to what Kolkata Port Trust has done.
