Multi-million dollar cargoes are at risk of being stolen by an organised criminal group based in Lebanon, an investigation by ICC's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has found.

The IMB reports that a cell is operating at least two vessels off the Ea stern Mediterranean, North Africa, and West African coasts, duping their victims out of cargoes. This gang is connected to at least three recent cases of deviation and appropriation of cargoes.

By offering bargain freight rates to shippers operating on the Eastern Mediterranean and North African coasts, the vessels' operators are easily obtaining cargo. Rather than discharging the cargo at the originally contracted port, the vessels have been changing identity and illegally discharging the cargoes at other ports. The cargo is often sold at reduced rates to another buyer. The cargo owner's suspicions regarding delay in delivery of goods are invariably allayed by excuses ranging from bad weather to technical difficulties.

"The cargoes being targeted are those that are easily disposed off. The chances of recovering any cargo stolen this way are minimal," said IMB Director Captain Pottengal Mukundan.

The first reported case of such cargo theft in this region was came last September when a Honduran-registered, Marshall Islands-owned ship loaded steel cargo in Istanbul and headed for Lagos, Nigeria. The 30 year old general cargo vessel deviated from its charted route, and wound up illegally selling the cargo in Lattakia, Syria.

In November 2002, the same vessel, having changed her name and now flying under the Tongan flag, was chartered to take a consignment of polyethylene from Libya to Morocco. Once again, she headed to Lattakia and quickly discharged the cargo under false documentation. The IMB has learned that since leaving Lattakia, the ship has again changed names.

"Unfortunately, it's far too simple for a vessel to hide under an assumed identity. The ease of doing so only contributes to this type of fraud", notes Mukundan.

In the most recent case, in December 2002, a totally different general-cargo carrier built in 1980, purportedly flying the North Korean flag, loaded a shipment of bagged cement in Alexandria, Egypt. The shipment was intended for two consignees in Conakry, Guinea. Again, the ship's identity was changed at sea. This time the cargo was redirected to Banjul, Gambia, where the cement was peddled to a local buyer. Fortunately, the vessel was apprehended after a chance contact with an alert local agent in Banjul. The case is currently under investigation by local authorities.

The three recent cases have sparked renewed concern about a possible resurgence of ship deviations from ports in this region. This was a widespread problem in the 1980s, but has subsided for some years.

"As this appears to be part of an organised and systemic fraud, cargo owners are advised to check with the IMB before contracting with any ships in the region" Mukundan advises.

ICC Commercial Crime Services

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