brand logo

Shipping agents owe $ 70 mn to shipping firms

02 Jun 2022

  • Minister Nimal Siripala to discuss with CBSL regarding payments  
The Ceylon Shipping Agents Association has informed the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Aviation that shipping agents owe about $ 70 million to shipping companies for services that were obtained so far at the Colombo Harbour.  In a discussion with the Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva on Tuesday (31 May), the Association has said that $ 70 million is needed to pay shipping companies for the services they have rendered so far, and has stressed that if these payments cannot be made due to the foreign exchange crisis, ships arriving in the country may face certain difficulties.  “De Silva assured the Association that he would engage in discussions with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to find solutions for this issue,” the Ministry said in a statement issued in this regard, yesterday (1 June).  Furthermore, de Silva has noted that the amount of containers arriving at the Colombo Port for exchange purposes has increased by 4.5% in recent times.  The Association has also told the Ministry officials about the 800 containers that are currently waiting at the Colombo Port due to Customs’ investigations.  “Due to this, a lot of space in the Harbour is being taken up. This space can be used productively to obtain foreign exchange to the country, if cleared up,” the Association has said.  Sri Lanka is going through the worst economic crisis since Independence, as foreign reserves remain at historic lows, heavily impacting the import of essential items such as fuel, food, and medicine. This has affected both the import and export sectors, with the latest hit being taken by the aviation sector, where flights coming into the country have been advised to refuel in India, instead of in Sri Lanka due to the lack of fuel.


More News..