Stowing away now a lucrative proposition

Stowing away has become
a lucrative business, with
a significant increase in
the number of stowaways
recorded at the Port of
Durban in the last quarter of
2016, according to Goscelin
Gordon, associate for
shipping and logistics at the
law firm Bowmans.
The port’s workforce
of around 6 000 people
appears to be part of the
problem. Stowaways gain
access to ships by donning
standard harbour worker
gear such as ref lective vests
and hard hats to blend in
with other port employees.
And a change in
legislation appears to be
an important contributing
factor.
Until a new ruling last
year, a person who boarded
a vessel in
port without
proper
authority was
regarded as
a trespasser
and could
be handed
over to the
shore-based
authorities.
However,
in February
2016, the
director general of Home
Affairs issued a policy
guideline under the
Immigration Act. This
guideline states that any
person who illegally boards
a ship is now regarded as a
stowaway, not a trespasser,
unless the ship’s authorities
can supply proof to the
contrary. This applies even
if the transgressor boards
while the ship is in port
and is discovered before its
departure.
With this change in
legislation, a stowaway/
trespasser is now regarded
as the responsibility of
the ship’s captain who is
responsible for the full costs
of repatriation. The current
ruling in South Africa is
that for a stowaway to be
classified as a trespasser,
the vessel has to provide
photographic, video or 3rd
party evidence that the
stowaway boarded the vessel
while it was in port.
The threat lies in the
fact that more recently
stowaways have become
more organised. More
sophisticated trespassers/
stowaways now board
ships with no intention of
using the vessel to travel
to another
port. Rather,
stowing away
is now being
seen by some
foreigners as
an easy way to
be sent home
free-of-charge
and, often,
even with a
substantial
cash payment
made to
facilitate this process.
If not discovered while
in port, the stowaway will
wait until the ship is at sea
and too far out to turn back.
This person will then emerge
from hiding and declare
himself to the crew. He is
then protected and must be
fed and clothed, and cannot
be compelled to work.
The subsequent
repatriation process can
take up to a year, and it is
not unheard of for payments
of up to $5000 to be made
to give stowaways incentive
to repatriate without undue
trouble
such as
refusing
to get on
the plane
home.
“As soon
as this
person has
dropped
the money
off in his
home
country,
he returns
to South Africa to repeat
the cycle. He is now a
professional stowaway,” a
port security consultant told
FTW.
He bases this statement on
the fact that when searching
ships, private security
firms encounter the same
stowaways repeatedly. “With
this legal reclassification, all
stowaways need to do is get
their feet on the deck, and
then they are home free as
legally, security can’t take
them off the ship.”
He explains that in
Durban there is a small
group of would-be
stowaways that live outside
the port. They watch the
ships in the harbour from
an adjacent freeway f lyover.
“They exchange information
on how to board ships
illegally and then what to do
afterwards,” the consultant
points out.
“These guys have become
so brazen that there have
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Stowing away now a lucrative
proposition
been instances where, while
a security team is searching
the ship, trespassers have
been trying to board by
climbing the mooring ropes,”
he adds.
It has been reported that
stowing away
is facilitated
either by
corrupt port
security
officers or by
crew on the
target ship,
who have
been bribed
to allow
unauthorised
individuals
on board.
Once
stowaways are on board,
there are many places
suitable for concealment, and
finding them can be time
consuming and expensive.
Unless ships’ captains
employ effective security
both to screen people using
the gangway and guard other
means of access, stowaways
will continue to be an
increasing threat to shipping
companies.
INSERT
Stowing away is now
being seen by some
foreigners as an easy
way to be sent home
free of charge.