Stowaways at sea: prevention, response and legal duties" loading="eager">
Stowaways remain a persistent, costly problem for the shipping industry, particularly on trades off West Africa, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. This guide covers what a stowaway is, how the risk has changed, the measures that reduce it, and what a master should consider when one is found, including the legal and humane-treatment duties that apply.
What counts as a stowaway
The 1965 Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (the FAL Convention) defines a stowaway as a person secreted on a ship, or in cargo later loaded onto it, without the consent of the owner, master or other responsible person, who is detected on board after departure (or in the cargo on arrival) and reported as a stowaway by the master to the authorities.
In practice these are usually people seeking a better life away from their country of origin. Risk is closely linked to a vessel's trade pattern, its cargo type, and the security training and awareness of the crew.
The scale of the problem
Reported cases fell after the ISPS Code came into force in 2004, but the longer trend points upward again. Reported figures across the industry:
| 2007 | 2011 | 2014 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incidents | 842 | 774 | 503 | 432 |
| Stowaways | 1,955 | 1,640 | 1,274 | 1,420 |
| Total cost (US$m) | 14.3 | 15.3 | 9.3 | 9.5 |
| Cost per incident (US$k) | 17.0 | 19.8 | 18.5 | 22.0 |
| Stowaways per incident | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.3 |
Fewer incidents, but more stowaways per incident and a rising cost per incident: the problem is concentrating, not disappearing.
Reducing the risk before it boards
Most stowaway losses are preventable with preparation. Before calling at a higher-risk port, consider:
- Know the local picture. Gather information from the owner, agents and maritime press on the current stowaway situation in the area. Is it a known hotspot? What do recent figures show?
- Understand the methods. Stowaways gain access by bribery, inside containers, by boat or swimming to hide in rudder trunks, or by posing as stevedores. Knowing the local technique shapes the countermeasure.
- Share intelligence. Comparing procedures with other masters who work the route surfaces what actually works.
- Set expectations with the agent. Make clear, in advance, that the vessel will not sail with stowaways on board and that all available port security measures should be used in the ship's interest.
The port dimension
Port security ranges from excellent to virtually non-existent, and the highest risk sits with ports and terminals where the ISPS Code is not being implemented. Where port defences are weak, the master and owner carry more of the prevention burden.
Detection at the port is genuinely hard. Searching every container is not feasible: soft-top units can be inspected easily, but standard steel-top containers cannot. Thermal cameras can read temperature differences inside a container, but many cargoes generate heat and stowaways have learned to defeat them by layering cardboard against the walls. Carbon-dioxide detectors are among the more effective tools in use, but are not infallible.
Knowing which ports fall short on ISPS implementation is exactly the kind of question Verihelm's port risk intelligence is built to answer.
If a stowaway is found
When a stowaway is discovered, the master should begin planning for disembarkation and repatriation straight away, because travel documents take time and delay can mean carrying the stowaway to the next scheduled port.
- Report early. Notify the shipowner, the P&I club and the agents at the last and next ports of call.
- Establish identity. Repatriation requires correct travel documents, which require a confirmed identity. This may mean interviews and a careful search of the person and the place they were found. Once identity is established, pass it to the relevant embassy or consulate for temporary travel permits.
- Use the covering-letter route. For undocumented stowaways, FAL Convention amendments recommend the port state issue a covering letter authorising return, with the relevant information and a photograph.
Legal and humane-treatment duties
How a crew treats a stowaway is both a legal and a human obligation, and getting it wrong has led to serious harm.
- Secure and care. Place any stowaway in secure quarters, guarded where possible, with adequate food and water, and search them and the place they were found for identification. Detain multiple stowaways separately. Act firmly, but humanely, and provide medical assistance if needed.
- Do not put them to work. Stowaways are untrained, and working them raises the risk of injury, compensation and wage claims that complicate repatriation.
- If a stowaway dies on board, the authorities at the next port, with the relevant embassy, decide how to proceed; procedures vary by country and the master should follow local instructions.
Instances of stowaways being mistreated, or even killed, after discovery led the IMO to issue guidelines that apply to all ports in all countries. Reference materials, including IMO Resolution A.871(20), are available on request.
Where Verihelm helps
Stowaway risk is a port-and-route question: which ports are weak on ISPS, where the trend is rising, and what that means for an upcoming call. Verihelm turns that into clear, analyst-verified port and voyage risk intelligence.