Ships carry 90% of the world’s goods to and from all corners of the globe. This makes commercial shipping a natural choice for traffickers to move their contraband to market. Hiding drug shipments in bulk cargo, ship void spaces, in containers and attached to the hull has been a problem for years and continues to challenge vessel operations. Our guest authors, discuss the legal position of the owner and charterer when the vessel is delayed or detained due to discovery of drugs secreted on the ship, using as an example, a cache found in the sea chest.