Reviewed: 22 August 2026
Discovering a stowaway creates an immediate responsibility for the person’s safety and a complex process involving the ship, company, authorities and, usually, the vessel’s P&I club.
The Master and crew may know very little about the person, their health or how they boarded. The next port may not permit disembarkation, while identity and travel documents can take time to establish. Decisions made in the first hours can affect welfare, security, the voyage and the prospects of resolving the case lawfully.
There is no universal onboard script. The response must follow the current company procedure, flag requirements, applicable law and instructions from the relevant authorities, with specialist support brought in early.
Prevention begins before the vessel sails
Stowaway prevention is closely connected to ship and port access control. The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code requires approved security arrangements, but the practical risk varies with the port, vessel, cargo operation and the points at which people or goods can reach the ship.
The appropriate controls may involve coordination with the port facility, checks of access points and spaces, lighting, watchkeeping, contractor management and a search before departure. The Ship Security Plan and port arrangements determine how those measures are conducted and recorded.
A generic list cannot identify every hiding place or safe search method on a particular vessel. Searches can expose crew to confined-space, machinery, cargo and personal-safety hazards, so they must be planned and carried out under the vessel’s approved procedures by people who understand the risks.
Prevention is strongest when ship and shore teams can account for who and what reached the vessel, rather than relying on a final sweep to find every failure in access control.
Discovery is first a safety and welfare event
A person found after departure may be dehydrated, injured, frightened or unable to communicate easily. The crew also needs to consider its own safety and the security of the vessel.
The immediate response should follow the Master’s judgement and the company’s current procedure. It should address urgent medical need, safe accommodation, food, water, sanitation, communication and any security concern without degrading or endangering the person.
Humane treatment is not optional. A stowaway remains a person entitled to basic safety and dignity, whatever the circumstances of boarding. Collective assumptions about nationality, motive or threat should not replace an assessment of the individual and the situation actually found.
The response should not create avoidable risk through improvised confinement, interrogation, work or punishment. Where a person may be a child, a victim of trafficking, in need of protection or seeking asylum, the company should obtain specialist legal and authority guidance without delay. A stowaway case must not be handled in a way that defeats applicable refugee-protection, anti-trafficking or safeguarding obligations.
Notify the people who can resolve the case
Stowaway cases depend on cooperation between several parties. The Master should use the company’s reporting route promptly so that the shipowner or manager can engage the P&I club, flag Administration, agents and the appropriate authorities under the applicable procedure.
The IMO’s current stowaway guidance sits within the framework of the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic. On 27 March 2026, the IMO Facilitation Committee adopted Resolution FAL.20(50), revising the guidelines on prevention and the allocation of responsibilities for resolving cases. The resolution calls for the revised responsibilities to be followed from July 2026.
The documentation and notifications required will depend on the circumstances and authorities involved. Records should be accurate, proportionate and handled with regard to privacy, protection and legal requirements. The crew should not improvise travel, immigration or law-enforcement decisions beyond its authority.
Early P&I and agent involvement can help establish the information, permissions and arrangements needed for lawful disembarkation and return. It does not guarantee that the next port will accept the person.
Disembarkation is an authority decision
A ship cannot assume that a stowaway can be put ashore at the next convenient port. Identity, nationality or residence, travel documentation, immigration position and permission from the relevant authorities may all need to be resolved.
The IMO framework allocates responsibilities among the shipowner, port of embarkation, port of disembarkation, flag State and the State of nationality or residence. The FAL Convention provides the international structure, but national procedures and the facts of the case determine what can happen in practice.
Whether the vessel alters its planned route is a case-specific decision for the Master and company, informed by safety, applicable requirements, authority coordination and specialist advice. Disembarkation should not be attempted without the necessary authority agreement, and delay in resolving the case must not reduce the standard of care provided onboard.
The aim is a lawful and humane resolution that avoids leaving the Master and crew to carry a problem that requires action by states and shore organisations.
The consequences reach beyond the vessel
A stowaway case can delay the ship, change the port sequence and create costs around guards, accommodation, documentation, travel and repatriation. It can also affect charterparty performance, cargo timing and the crew’s workload and welfare.
For an insurer, the questions may concern notification, assistance and covered costs. A charterer or trader may focus on delay and delivery, while the port and public authorities need to manage immigration, security and disembarkation responsibilities. Governments and institutions may also need to consider trafficking, protection or human-rights concerns that are not visible from the fact of unauthorised boarding alone.
These consequences make early coordination important. They do not justify treating the person as cargo or reducing care to a cost-control exercise.
Where Verihelm contributes
Verihelm port and voyage assessments help customers consider the wider security and incident picture around a planned route or port call. Completed assessments pass through Dryad Global’s internal quality-control process and carry a visible approval status.
For customers with access, Verihelm’s Stowaway Risk panel shows state-reported incidents associated with a port of embarkation across rolling 12, 24 and 36-month periods. It also shows reported destination ports and outcomes, together with a visible warning that IMO GISIS FAL.2 reporting can be incomplete and delayed. This gives operators and underwriters relevant history to examine; it does not calculate the probability that someone will board a particular vessel.
Verihelm does not identify a person hidden onboard, direct the onboard response or arrange disembarkation and repatriation. Its contribution is to preparation and risk examination before the incident. If a person is found, the response belongs to the Master, company and authorities working through the current procedure, with P&I and specialist support where appropriate.
This article provides general information and analysis. It is not legal, immigration, medical, insurance or vessel-specific operational advice. Follow current company, flag, coastal-state, port, P&I and IMO procedures for the case in question.