Shippers’ Authority Steps in as Cargo Hits 2.5 Million TEUs at Tema Port
The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has stepped in to address growing congestion at the Tema Port as cargo volumes have hit 2.5 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) ahead of the peak Christmas season.
The intervention by the Authority follows intense pressure on port operations, resulting in congestion and delays in cargo clearance, with complaints from importers, exporters, freight forwarders and motorists who use roads within and around the port.
To assess the situation first-hand, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of GSA, Hon. Mike Allen Hammah, and the Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Ransford Gyampo, undertook a fact-finding visit to the port to engage managers and identify immediate measures to improve cargo clearance and vessel turnaround.
As part of the tour, the GSA leadership met with the Director-General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Major-General Paul Seidu Tanye-Kulono, and the Chief Executive Officer of Meridian Port Services (MPS), Mr Mohammed Samara.
Mr Samara disclosed that cargo volumes at the port have seen exponential growth, rising from approximately 700,000 TEUs in 2020 to 2.7 million TEUs in 2025, with the current figure of about 2.5 million TEUs expected to climb further in the last quarter.
He said about one million TEUs of the current volume are linked to transhipment cargo from China and neighbouring countries.
He described the congestion as manageable but warned that if not addressed promptly, it could lead to serious disruption for port users and communities around the port.
According to him, the expansion of Terminal 3 and the rising throughput have strengthened Ghana’s position as a formidable shipping and transhipment hub, but supporting infrastructure, including roads and inland container depots, has not expanded at the same pace.
He revealed that the proposed eight-lane road from the GNPC Junction to the Ashaiman Overhead, to be funded by MPS, is yet to receive the support required for work to commence.
The GSA delegation also identified the high rate of physical inspection as a major bottleneck.
MPS indicated that about 70 per cent of containers undergo intrusive inspection, significantly increasing clearance times, with some state agencies conducting separate examinations instead of joint concurrent inspections.
MPS noted that while the global standard for “Red Lane” inspection is about 10 per cent, Ghana’s stands at about 74 per cent, calling for a review of the risk classification system to allow compliant and low-risk consignments to enjoy faster clearance.
Proposed interventions from the engagement include a GRA-Customs-led review and re-calibration of the risk classification system, better coordinated concurrent inspections, strict enforcement of punitive measures for wrong declarations, and a multi-stakeholder action plan to accelerate cargo release and safeguard revenue.
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