Leonard Neill NOTHING IS secure in today’s business world, and no system is totally theft-proof. That was the message from Captain Muku Mukundan, director of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Crime Bureau who addressed the Gauteng business community last week on the hazards facing freight on the high seas. “My message to all involved in the movement of cargo is not to take anything for granted. You have to make sure your goods are intact every centimetre of the way, and even then you are not always in safe hands.” Seals on containers are not always the best form of security, he said. Sophisticated operators can open up a container with special appliances developed to pull out the rivets on the doors without damaging the seals, remove or replace what they want, and then re-rivet the doors with no trace of any damage. “Don’t consider that the most expensive seals are the safest, either. These more often than not prove an immediate attraction to the thieves. They indicate the cargo must be of value. “Right now new forms of electronically controlled seals are being developed which will go a long way to assisting in security. These will have to be removed with special electronic apparatus. But there will still be many containers on the waters that will reach their destination with either contents removed or non-documented items slipped into them.” Mukundan is one of the world’s leading authorities on maritime fraud, He was brought to South Africa by the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry in association with Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank.
