The UK P&I Club has previously advised on the actions that shipowners may take in the event of stowaways and has now issued a questionnaire to assist in establishing, principally, the true nationality of a stowaway who is without valid travel documentation and to facilitate issuance of a temporary travel document from his country of origin in order that the stowaway can be disembarked and repatriated.
The Club says that many stowaways display a determination not to return to their country of origin, therefore operators should be mindful that stowaways will sometimes to great lengths to disguise their true nationality by fabricating or falsifying information.
The Club advises that prompt notification on discovery of a stowaway on board, can have a substantial bearing on how quickly the stowaway is disembarked.
The UK P&I Club has recently seen several incidents in West Africa concerning stowaways boarding/attempting to board a vessel via the rudder trunk.
The Club has also issued stowaways checklist to provide guidance in steps for preventing and dealing with stowaways.
Please click below to view the Stowaway Questionnaire
Source: The UK P&I Club
Better Late Than Never !!!
Especially as the Refugee Situation in the Middle East has simply got out of hand, & every vessel in or around that region including the Horn Of Africa {Gulf Of Aden}, poses severe risks of TERRORISTS disguising themselves as STOWAWAYS to make use of the U.N. & Geneva Conventions on Refugees !!!