Tag: stowaways

Attacks on ships can be “utterly terrifying” for the seafarers involved, Sailors’ Society CEO Sara Baade said, following an incident involving stowaways who reportedly became violent towards crew onboard an oil tanker, off the Isle of Wight this weekend.

A Panama-flagged bulk carrier that was detained in South Africa last month, for throwing overboard two stowaways off the Natal coast, was released Thursday, according to South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA).

Clandestine migration is an issue that attracts interest these days, with TT Club informing that except border disruptions, this issue poses a great risk of contamination and damage to goods. Now, 2019 closed with surging numbers concerning clandestine migration with each Brexit deadline, as smugglers anticipated the border becoming more secure after Brexit.

Four Nigerian and Liberian stowaways were convicted from a UK court for the crime of affray for supposedly throwing fecal matter and threatening the crew of the Grimaldi con/ro Grande Tema last year. The defendants were cleared of the more serious charge of attempted hijacking. 

Twenty-five stowaways were found inside a refrigerated container on board a Britannia Seaways ferry. The vessel was sailing from the Netherlands to its final destination in United Kingdom. While en route to Felixstowe, the personnel discovered the stowaways, due to the fact that they heard sounds coming from the cooling container.

Panama's Ship Registry provides guidance on operators regarding ways to implement the necessary security measures to prevent stowaway’s access either at sea or on arrival. As the guidance says, when a stowaway is discovered, this is an indication of a failure in the implementation of the Ship Security Plan.

EEMS DART, a general cargo ship, was sailing from Rouen France to Dogheda Ireland, but had to turn to Cherbourg, when the crew exposed eight Albanian illegal migrants in the engine room, September 28.

As the Swedish Club informed, no stowaways will be allowed to be landed in South African ports, according to a new sharpened policy from the immigration authority. Any person declared as a stowaway will have to be removed on route or at the next port of call outside South Africa.

The Panama Maritime Authority issued a Circular to alert Shipowners, operators, masters, companies of Panamanian flagged vessels to implement the security measures needed to prevent stowaways from entering, either at sea or on arrival. When a stowaway is discovered, it reflects that the vessel failed to implement its Ship Security Plan.

In its latest Safety Scenario, the Swedish Club focuses on a case regarding three stowaways. Namely, the crew of a container ship that had left from Lagos discovered three people sitting on the rudder. The stowaways had used a small rowing boat to reach the vessel and had managed to climb up the rudder and then into the rudder trunk.