Forged documents leave carriers and agents high and dry

“FRAUD IN shipping is endemic,” according to a recent report by the International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) More and more agents are coming up against attempts to obtain delivery of cargo using forged emails. The latest edition of the ITIC annual report details the alarming extent to which documents, electronic communications and bills of lading are being forged, leaving carriers and agents liable for their principals’ losses. This misrelease of valuable cargo is a major factor in claims by principals against their agents, with carelessness in the use of telex releases a main contributor to these losses. The ‘telex release’ is the release of cargo at one port when the original bill of lading has been surrendered at another. Email has become the prevalent medium for the telex release today. The problem with telex releases, according to ITIC, lies in the blasé manner in which the release instructions sent between agents is handled. There have been several claims reported to ITIC where the releasing agent has taken an ambiguously worded message from a thirdcountry receiving agent to be a release, when it was not. Another issue with telex releases is a direct result of email fraud where emails are received by discharge port agents manipulated to appear as though they have originated from the load port agent. The releasing agent should double-check with the third country receiving agent if the telex does not clearly state that original bills of lading have been collected and that cargo can be released. The telex should also state that full details of the cargo, container number, name, address of consignee, and that freight and other charges payable at the load port have been collected. International Transport Intermediaries Club is a mutual insurance company that has been providing indemnity insurance to companies in the transport industry for over 80 years.