Trinidad shipping firms say no more payments in TT$ currency

File picture: A freight ship offloads cargo at the Port of Port-of-Spain
File picture: A freight ship offloads cargo at the Port of Port-of-Spain

(Trinidad Guardian) Two shipping companies announced on Friday that come January 17, 2021, customers wishing to import items into Trinidad and Tobago will have to pay their freight charges in US dollars.

The announcements were made by Seaboard Marine and King Ocean Services.

In a release, Seaboard said, “Effective January 17, 2021, we have adopted a policy requiring all freight charges paid in Trinidad to be done in US dollars.”

The company said this was due to the continued difficulty of converting T&T currency to US dollars.

The new policy applies to all charges listed on the carrier’s bill of lading, Seaboard said.

Similarly, King Ocean cited the difficulty in converting the currencies as their reason for the policy change.