(1) It shall be the duty of the Council to provide facilities for mutual consultations between shippers, shipowners and the Railway and Ports Authority on matters of interest to shippers.

(2) Without prejudice to subsection (1) of this section the Council shall have power-

(a) to represent the views of shippers in regard to the structure of freight rates, availability and adequacy of shipping space, frequency of sailings, port charges, port facilities and other related matters;

(b) to negotiate and enter into agreements with shipowners on matters affecting shippers;

(c) to undertake studies and enquiries on problems affecting shippers in Ghana;

(d) to subscribe to the membership of, or otherwise co-operate with, any other body whose objects are in whole or in part similar to those of the Council;

(e) to do such other lawful acts as are conducive and incidental to the performance of the foregoing functions.

(3) The Council may by resolution delegate to any member or officer of the Council any of its functions and such member or officer shall discharge the functions so delegated to him.

(4) The Council shall be responsible for the implementation in Ghana of the cargo sharing provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences, 1974, and for the purposes of this subsection the Council-

(i) shall administer the cargo sharing formula of 40-40-20 prescribed under the Convention;

(ii) may waive the allocation of cargo on the basis of the 40-40-20 formula.

(5) The Council may with the approval of the Secretary responsible for Transport and Communications levy such charges and commissions as may be prescribed for any services it renders to shippers, shipping agents and shipowners.

(6) The Council may grant exemptions in respect of any such charges and commissions; [As inserted by the Ghana Shippers' Council (Amendment) Law, 1987 (PNDCL 181), s. (a)].