USCG has issued new guidance to address all challenges facing employers to conduct mandatory drug testing during the COVID-19 pandemic response. In this context, USCG has published Marine Safety Information Bulletin 10-20 to reiterate the importance of drug and alcohol testing and provide suggestions to overcome the challenges of compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the latest issue, CHIRP presents two reports they received about the use of drugs onboard commercial fishing vessels, highlighting the severe impact drug use has on seafarers.
The Mexican Navy seized 3.1 kg of cocaine, reportedly thrown from the container ship ‘MOL Majesty’ to a boat with three people onboard, at the Port Ensenada. In a statement, the Second Naval Region announced that it confiscated the three packages on 25 February.
USCG warned mariners, marine employers, and sponsoring organizations that some products marketed as hemp or cannabidiol (CBD) may contain enough tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to cause a positive drug test.
In its latest investigation report UK MAIB focuses on a fatal incident concerning a skipper onboard a UK-registered fishing vessel ‘Artemis’ who fell head-first through an access hatch between the vessel’s wheelhouse and its mess deck 2.1m below, resulting to severe head injuries and died. The report notes that a significant factor of the accident was that the skipper was under the influence of alcohol.
The US Coast Guard has set the calendar year 2020 minimum random drug testing rate at 50% of covered crew members. The minimum random drug testing rate is effective from 1st January 2020 through 31st December 2020.
UK Royal Navy announced seizure of £3.3 million drugs in the Middle East. The bust came as the crew of destroyer HMS Defender pounced on a suspicious dhow, as they swept the northern Arabian Sea for smugglers and traffickers.
North informs that recent incidents of criminals using cargo ships to smuggle narcotics have highlighted specific routes that are being targeted by smugglers. Namely, one route is Barranquilla to Altamira, as there has been a notable increase in the finding of cocaine on vessels trading from Colombia to Mexico. In most of the cases, bulk carriers have been targeted. The drugs, in the form of packaged cocaine were buried within the cargo and were only discovered during discharge operations.
The Secretary General of InterManager, Captain Kuba Szymanski, is calling everyone to sign a petition concerning the release of Captain Andrzej Lasota, who was arrested by Mexican authorities on Monday, August 5. Captain Andrzej Lasota was arrested for allegedly being unaware of the ship carrying prohibited substances to Mexico, placing the lives and health of the country’s citizens at risk.
Three Spanish border agents have been rescued by suspected drug smugglers after a vessel collision sent the officers into the water and left their boat running in an uncontrolled turn. In fact, as Spain’s Guardia Civil reported, on the morning of Friday, 4 October, a boat operated by Guardia Civil officers crashed with a RIB go-fast launch carrying four suspected drug traffickers, during an operation off the coast of Malaga.
