The International Maritime Organization has added its voice to the fight against corruption, identifying seafarers as vulnerable targets.
Speaking on ‘International Anti-Corruption Day’ yesterday, Secretary-General Kitack Lim said the maritime industry was frequently exposed to the risk of corruption.
“Research has identified that seafarers may be subjected to corrupt demands, such as unlawful requests for payments to allow ships to enter and depart the port or disproportionate penalties applied for minor errors.
“This can lead to interruptions to normal operations, delaying ships and creating a risk to navigation and seafarer safety,” he pointed out.
The Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) anonymous reporting mechanism had collected close to 40 000 reports of corrupt demands globally, he said.
“Corrupt practices impact legitimate shipping and port operations and can lead to damaging effects on trade and investment.”
The IMO’s facilitation committee addressed the ship/port interface and was currently working to develop guidance to implement and embrace anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices and procedures to assist all stakeholders, he added.
