Formulating rules for ship tallying vital for security

Interview. The ship tallying business, also known as commercial or cargo ship tallying, is one of the businesses that are little known in Tanzania despite its importance to the country’s economy.

Our Reporter Veneranda Sumila interviewed Tanzania Shiptally Association secretary general Michael Kimathi about the business and its importance to Tanzania’s economic development

What is cargo ship tallying all about?

Cargo ship tallying is the process of checking and ascertaining cargo loading into or discharging from the ship.

The main objective of doing so is to physically establish whether the cargo conforms to the valid and authorised export and import document. It includes confirming cargo type, quantity, quality, storage and general loading and offloading requirements.

What is a brief background of the ship tallying business in Tanzania?

Before the monopolisation, the ship tallying business was in the hands of private organisations.

However, after property expropriation, powers and functions of ship tallying were vested in the state-run National Shipping Agencies Company, then the sole operating shipping agent.

In early 1990s, the government embarked on liberalising the economy including the shipping business. However, for undisclosed reasons commercial ship tallying was not among the many reforms which were undertaken during the early transition period from the centralised economy to the market economy.

The business has been in the hands of few operators, hence breaching the guiding principles of principal and agent in shipping business.

What is the importance of ship tallying business in a developing country like Tanzania?

The ship tallying business is very important for ensuring that the government earns proper revenue according to goods imported or exported. But currently the ship tallying is operated by unscrupulous shipping line agents creating an overt conflict of interest. It is now done as in-house operations which in turn deny the government revenue.

Moreover, if things that dock or leave the country are not properly known it can be very risky for the country as people may import things that are harmful to people and the economy at large.

These forms of sabotage can also take different forms of malpractices including overloading of ships which can lead to sinking, loading illegal or dangerous cargo, theft and pilferage of cargo loaded on ships, theft of cargo while in the process of loading and unloading

Improper tallying has resulted in inaccurate and independent cargo statistics in the country.

Independent ship tallies are also useful to Insurers and Protection and Indemnity Clubs, as the accurate data enables the proper calculation of payments for services offered by the various parties.

Do you see the ship tallying business flourishing in Tanzania?

Unquestionably no, we are operating in many challenges, the most important being lack of regulations. With no regulations that guide who should do the ship tallying business and how he should do it, many people especially shipping agents who are not licensed to do ship tallying are now involving in the business, making us remain with no work to do.

All other services are placed at the mercy of the shipping agents. Ship tally regulations would help to have a balanced control in the shipping industry,

The country is also losing revenue as shipping agents are entitled to prove whether the cargo they carry conforms to the valid and authorised export and import document; they are doing this as in-house operation as a means of evading tax. There should be independent ship tallying from a third party which is a specialist ship tallying company whose records can be recognised and accepted by different interested parties.

What should be done to improve the situation?

Regulations must be put in place at the earliest possible time as among the means of creating jobs among its citizens.

We have been advocating for the establishment of a legal framework to regulate ship tallying business since 2009, but to date no proper and written responses have been obtained. It should be known that more than 1,500 jobs can be created by change in commercial ship tallying legal and structural frameworks.

We also urge the government to ensure that cargo tallying is made and run as an independent professional business and that shipping lines, shipping agents and stevedores should not be licensed to conduct cargo ship tallying.