B SAFE Physical Security DRUG SMUGGLING PREVENTION – WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP PREVENT YOUR SHIP BEING USED BY DRUG SMUGGLERS Jacob Damgaard jdamgaard@tindallriley.com Published: 4 May 2020 A ship may be the target of smugglers seeking to use it for transporting their illegal substances. This guidance provides valuable advice on preventing your ship unintentionally becoming a part of an illegal smuggling operation Download Japanese translation here . One of our Member’s ships had just departed from a Mexican port and was about 1nm from the berth when 2 trespassers were observed throwing 3 packages into the water and then jumping overboard themselves. Both the packages and the trespassers were retrieved by a small craft. Later investigations revealed that the trespassers may have come on board disguised as terminal employees. In this instance, no further action was taken against the ship or the Member by the Mexican authorities. However, several other recently reported cases have resulted in ships being arrested following the discovery of illegal drugs on board and in some cases the Master and other crew members were later put in prison. In one case, the Master remained in custody for several months without any formal charges made against him. It goes without saying that such situations can put an enormous mental strain on the crew members involved, as well as on their families. INCIDENTS SUCH AS THE ONE DESCRIBED ABOVE ARE UNFORTUNATELY SHOW THAT THE MARITIME INDUSTRY IS OFTEN THE TARGET OF SMUGGLERS SEEKING TO USE SHIPS AS A MEAN OF TRANSPORTING DRUGS TO MARKETS, TYPICALLY IN THE US OR EUROPE. IT IS THEREFORE IMPORTANT THAT MEMBERS DEMONSTRATE DUE DILIGENCE AND TAKE APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO PREVENT DRUGS BEING BROUGHT ON BOARD THEIR SHIPS. Smuggling can take place in many different ways, some of which are more sophisticated than others, and typically it takes place without the knowledge of the crew. Some of the methods of smuggling which have been recently reported to