LP News issue 17 - UK P&I Members Area

MOMBASA – KENYAProblems with disembarking stowawaysA recent decree, issued by the Kenyanauthorities, states that non-Kenyanstowaways are no longer permitted to bedisembarked and be placed in the safecustody of the Mombasa Port Policepending investigation and eventualrepatriation.Non-Kenyan stowaways may only bedisembarked when a consular/embassyofficial has confirmed their nationality andthe requisite emergency travel documentshave been issued. The stowaways will thenbe disembarked and taken directly to theairport. Unfortunately, it is almostimpossible to have necessary repatriationdocumentation on hand in time.Most embassies are situated inNairobi. Even if the officials manage tocoincide their arrival in Mombasa with thearrival of the ship, the necessary flightschedules and seats may not be availablefor the stowaways to be transferreddirectly from the port to the airport. Insome exceptional cases, Tanzanianstowaways can be removed in time, as theTanzanian consular representative islocated in Mombasa ■.........................................................................................................................................................................................DURBAN – SOUTH AFRICAStowaways – ISPS CodeTo disembark stowaways in Durban,South Africa, the following requirementsmust now be in place:■■■■Ships arriving in Durban from a foreignport are required to give 96 hoursnotice of stowaways onboardproviding the ship is ISPS compliant. Ifthe ship is not compliant with the ISPScode then this could hinder thedisembarkation of stowaways.Ships arriving at Durban whose lastport of call was a South African port,will be allowed to disembarkstowaways without giving noticeprovided that they meet with theNational Ports Authority'srequirements.Ships arriving at Durban Roads from aSouth African port that wish todisembark stowaways at the outeranchorage will be allowed to do so,provided they meet with the NationalPorts Authority's requirements.Ships leaving Durban harbour wherestowaways are found onboard afterthe ship has left the anchorage will beallowed to disembark the stowaways,provided they meet with the NationalPorts Authority's requirements.The National Ports Authority requires thefollowing:In all cases where stowaways have beenfound onboard a ship from either a foreignport or a South African port, a pre-arrivalform from the National Ports Authority ofSouth Africa must be completed by theship's local agent and forwarded, prior tothe stowaway or stowawaysdisembarkation, to:1 Maritime Rescue CoordinatingCentre, Cape Town2 Durban Port Control3 Port Security Officer, DurbanWe advise Members of the aboverequirements, which may be subject tochanges, and also advise that localimmigration requirements must also becomplied with ■.........................................................................................................................................................................................................WEST COAST USAReoccurrenceof ChinesestowawaysTowards the end of May 2004, two enteredvessels, a container and bulk carrier arrivedat Long Beach, California and Vancouver,Canada respectively. Each had sailed fromBusan, Korea, around the middle of May,one from the main container terminal andthe second from Pier 5, bulk cargo, which isadjacent to the terminal.During the voyage to Long Beach on thecontainer vessel, three Chinese stowaways,all originating from Fujian, were foundhiding in the deck container stack area.There was no evidence of any crewinvolvement in secreting the stowawaysaboard and it was suspected that they hadgained access during the vessel’s stay inBusan.In the case of the bulk carrier, sevenFujianese stowaways were discoveredhiding in a void space below the forecastleand above the fore peak tank. In this case,they alleged that crew had assisted them togain access to the vessel.During the course of investigations ittranspired that a third non-club enteredvessel had also been found in Long Beach tohave four Fujianese stowaways aboard,again hiding in above-deck containerstacks.continued over6