Shipping lines calling at Colombo port in Sri Lanka have announced that higher terminal charges are to be introduced from January, according to a report in the Lanka Business Online (LBO).The India Pakistan Bangladesh Ceylon Conference (IPBCC) - a grouping of about 19 shipping lines - said that it was revising rates following a review of terminal handling costs in Colombo. The group that handles well over 80 per cent of Sri Lanka's import and export trade, collectively fixes rates with members, who are not allowed to negotiate with shippers independently. Charges for a TEU will go up from US$115 each to $155, and the charge for a FEU will rise from $184 to $245. The other new charges, which come into effect on January 1, include: $295 for a 45-foot dry cargo container; $185 for a TEU reefer and a FEU reefer will costs $295.
The report quoted local shippers saying that "shipping lines jack up terminal handling charges to cushion against falling freight rates that come down when there is an oversupply of capacity". The chairman of the Sri Lanka Shippers Council, Jayanath Perera, also told LBO that: "Collectively raising rates in this way is an anti-competitive practice. Shipping lines revise their terminal handling charges when there is an over-supply situation in the market and freight rates come down." Colombo port has an annual capacity of three million TEU, of which 70 per cent is transshipment cargo, the report added.