Bribery at Sea it's more than Cigarettes and Alcohol

The outstretched hand, the muffled request; that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realise you have no option but to facilitate the permission needed for ship operations to progress smoothly and unencumbered.

It's the asymmetry of the risk versus remedy equation that has taxed the conscience of many a ship's master, with the risk being, delay to the vessel's operating schedule and the remedy being a carton of cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey. The inequality of this simple financial equation has allowed this petty crime to become more and more pervasive over time.   

For too long now the ship's Master has balanced on the horns of this rather annoying dilemma, being dammed if he does and dammed if he doesn't. On the one hand he has his legal and contractual obligations which should prevent such a transaction taking place, and on the other, to fail to do so may lead to delay and the loss of many thousands of dollars for his owners and the loss of his livelihood should he fail to meet the swingeing time pressures that accompany charterers orders. 

In this podcast, Shoreline’s CEO – Captain Thomas Brown review’s  this very real maritime risk and discusses ways in which the industry is fighting back and changing through the collective action of the many and the expertise of the few who have the vision to create a better industry outcome. 

We will look at the prevention and the cure. 

Prevention being the mandate of the Maritime Anti-Corruption, which has made great strides over recent years to curb these shady practices, offering support and advice to shipowners and their seagoing masters to prevent the practice of bribery at sea and; the cure will be discussed with our colleagues at Control Risks who have responded to many a cry of help from their shipowner and insurance clients when caught in this crosshairs of this criminal activity.