BIMCO's position on "smuggling" has been approved by the BIMCO Board of Directors.
The occasional unwitting involvement of merchant ships with smuggling of drugs, weapons, wildlife and other goods can constitute a serious problem to the involved seafarers and the shipowner. Although there is excellent cooperation and communication between the shipping industry, national custom/border control authorities and the World Customs Organization, there have been instances where innocent seafarers and companies have been held responsible for illegal goods placed on board their ships. For involved shipowners, detention of ships and arrest of crews are not uncommon and the potential for large fines and penalties is very real - as is the potential confiscation of assets including the ship.
Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) publish regular Bunker Alerts based entirely on fuel samples and have kindly permitted BIMCO’s Members to access this information.
The Bunker Alerts are not intended to be an evaluation of overall bunker quality in the port or area concerned, but usually highlight a specific parameter within the fuel which has raised a quality issue.
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