The recent tragedy in the Red Sea where nearly 200 migrants from the Sudan drowned whilst sailing for Saudi Arabia is a reminder of the scale of international human migration. Many such migrants attempt to smuggle themselves on board international merchant ships in search of a better and safer life abroad.
Stowaways on board ships have been a perennial problem for owners and crews and are a regular feature of the P&I claims handler's experience. A search of our Knowledge & Developments section will yield 22 separate items drawn from the Club's extensive experience on both preventing stowaways, detecting their presence on board and dealing with them once found.
is a good starting point as it gives a list of loss prevention tips on preventing illicit embarkation. It also provides a list of steps to take in the event that a stowaway is detected on board. A companion
guides crews and agents through the information that is needed to facilitate the repatriation process.
A number of articles can be found which give a more descriptive guide to dealing with stowaways. The most recent are in the South African Review published last week. Other publications give other national perspectives on the problem such as the
Members are advised that effective 12:00pm, Thursday 22 July, South Australia transitioned from a 'low risk' state to a ‘medium risk’ state, advance warning of a FIC has also been given which will run in Australia from 1 August to 31 September 2021 to determine the level of compliance with the safety of navigation requirements of International Conventions and familiarity of the masters and officers with their processes for ensuring safety of navigation.
In this, the third and final episode addressing BWM, the topic of Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement of the Ballast Water Management Convention is examined with Dr Guillaume Drillet from SGS.
This maritime security guidance has been drafted jointly by BIMCO, ICS, INTERTANKO, INTERCARGO, and OCIMF following an incident in which a Tanker conducting STS Operations in International waters in the Persian Gulf reported a limpet mine attached to the hull of the vessel.
