风险提示：哥伦比亚港口毒品走私

导语：

哥伦比亚普遍存在毒品走私风险。一些港口，如 Barranquilla，虽然是低风险区，但最近也发生了几起与安全或毒品相关的事件。除Puerto Bolivar 及Puerto Drummond港外，在哥伦比亚的大多数港口，原则上不强制要求会员做毒品搜查，或采取特殊措施。但是，Skuld协会的当地通代建议会员在哥伦比亚的所有港口都应进行毒品检查，该检查可由海军或私营潜水公司实施。

Skuld协会发布哥伦比亚的航行指南

 

一.进入哥伦比亚前

1.提醒船长和船员停靠哥伦比亚港口的船舶毒品走私可能性增加，强调在船舶抛锚或靠泊时需要格外提高警惕；

2.告知上岸的船员毒枭的惯用手法是通过为船员提供帮助以获取船员的协助；

3.船舶到达前，港口代理应提供船长相应港口的最新资料；

4.船舶应当对入港前、停留期间和离港后所观察到的一切活动和地方当局、装卸工人和其他岸上工作人员所采取的行动作准确的记录。

 

二.在港期间或停泊时

1.在航行前，水下检查可由可靠的私人潜水公司在P&I通代在场的情况下进行，费用约为3 000美元。请注意， Barranquilla港由于其水质条件不适合做水下检查；

2.尽管Buenaventura港口符合ISPS标准，但建议在船上安排额外的私人安保；

3.可安排安保24小时在船上巡逻；

4.应保留船只停靠哥伦比亚港口时所采取的安全措施的书面证据。在装卸工或修理技术人员在船上工作的地方应该有固定的看守人员。第三方在船上进行的任何可疑行为都应报告给船长；

5.船舶看守人员应对任何带上船舶的包裹进行彻底检查；

6.在进出通路或舷梯上应保持严格的警戒，只有有正当理由登船的人方可进入；

7.船员在停靠港口期间应定期进行船上检查；

8.天黑时，船上所有处所应安排良好照明以进行视觉监测；

9.若发现船舱、储物室或集装箱的封条被毁或丢失，应立即着手调查；若调查没有任何发现，封条应被及时更换；事故报告及调查结果应被记录在航海日志中，对应封条号码也应被记录。

10.若船长怀疑船上有潜在毒品走私，船长应立即向当地政府及P&I通代报告；

11.除非绝对必要，告知船员在船舶靠港期间尽可能不上岸；

三.船上发现毒品后的处置方法

1.立即通知协会、当地P&I通代、船东或其管理公司；

2.船长应高度配合当地政府工作；

3.立即通知港口警察；

4.对发现毒品的船只区域进行拍照或录像，但不要碰触该地点，并将其封闭，以防止未经授权的人员进入；

5.若船上发现毒品，船长和船员可能会被临时拘留，这只是初步调查的一部分，船舶也将被滞留在港口等待进一步调查。集装箱内发现毒品时，集装箱可能作为证据被没收。

四．其他建议

1.如可能，会员应尽量避免在哥伦比亚港口进行燃油、备品或伙食的补给；

2.常见的隐藏毒品的位置是舵室。因此，对于多次在哥伦比亚港口停靠的船只，建议安装一个栅栏或其他适当的屏障；

3.如果船东选择在Barranquilla进行水下检验，请在河域外的公海进行，通常有个叫Caño Agua Dulce的位置可以从事这样的检验，该检验需要港口船长办公室的批准。在检验期间，必须有一名引水员一直在船。因此，该检验的费用可能很高，从7 ,000美元到12, 000美元不等，即使实际的潜水检查费用只有3, 500美元左右;

4.确定船舶的航程是非常重要的。例如，如果该船首先停靠Acajutla 港和中美洲北部港口，则毒品走私的风险是最小的。风险最高的航程是从哥伦比亚、巴拿马或哥斯达黎加去北美或中美洲港口。

协会建议

尽管在哥伦比亚港口非法物质在船上被隐蔽藏匿的可能性较小，会员谨慎考虑协会的以上建议仍不失为明智之举，尤其当一个航次从哥伦比亚港口开始时。

通函内容，请以英文原文为准，汉语翻译仅供参考。 如您对上述内容有任何疑问，新乔十分乐意为您解答并提供帮助。

 

 

Colombia: Drug smuggling at Colombian ports

Colombian ports in general present drug trafficking risks. Some, such as Barranquilla, are deemed at lower risk, even though they have recently had a few security- or drug-related incidents.

Drug searches by members are not mandatory, nor do members need to take special measures in most Colombian ports, excepting Puerto Bolivar and Puerto Drummond, where they are expected. However, our local correspondents advise searches be conducted in any Colombian port. Such inspections can be undertaken by the navy or by private diving companies.

Guidelines for members when trading in Colombia

A. Measures before entry

• Advise the master and crew of the increased probability of drug smuggling on vessels calling at any Colombian port, emphasising the need for extra vigilance while at anchor or alongside.
• Crew going onshore should be informed that it is common practice in Colombia for drug traffickers to befriend them in order to achieve their cooperation.
• Prior to the vessel's arrival, the port agent must provide the master with the relevant updated data related to the relevant Colombian port.
• The ship should keep accurate records of all activities observed and the actions taken by local authorities, stevedores, and other shore-based personnel and crew before entry into port, during the stay, and immediately after departure.

B. While in port or at anchor

• Prior to sailing, an underwater inspection could be undertaken by a reliable private diving company in the presence of the P&I correspondent. The estimated cost is approximately US$3,000. Please note that such an inspection is not possible at Barranquilla due to the muddy water conditions.
• Although Buenaventura's terminals comply with ISPS standards, it is advisable to provide additional, private security on board.
• Guards may be arranged to patrol around the vessel in launches 24 hours a day. The guards should be instructed to keep a close eye on small craft and fishing boats operating in the vicinity of the vessel, on unidentified divers, and on air bubbles rising to the surface, and to monitor the vessel's stern area very carefully to ensure that no one gains access to the rudder trunk. Please note, however, that these measures can be fairly costly.
• Documentary evidence of the security measures taken by the vessel when visiting Colombian ports should be maintained. Permanent watchmen should be present in areas where stevedores or repair technicians are working on board the ship. Any suspicious activities conducted onboard by third parties should be reported to the master.
• Watchmen should be alert to any packages being brought onto the vessel. Each should be thoroughly checked prior to being permitted on board.
• A strict watch should be maintained at the gangway or the accommodation ladder, and access permitted only persons with a legitimate reason for coming on board.
• The crew should perform regular shipboard inspections throughout the duration of the port call.
• During hours of darkness all areas should be well lit in order to facilitate visual monitoring of activities.
• When possible, place additional lighting over the side to illuminate the surrounding water and the quayside at night. The use of a searchlight during the hours of darkness should be considered.
• When seals for compartments, lockers, containers etc. are discovered to be broken or missing, an investigation should be conducted. If nothing is found, the seals should be replaced by the crew.
• A record should be made in the logbook, together with a note of the outcome of the investigation and search. The relevant seal numbers should be inserted.
• If the master suspects a drug smuggling attempt on board the ship, he or she should immediately report it to the local authorities and the P&I correspondent.
• So far as possible, instruct the ship's crew to remain on board throughout the vessel's stay in port, and not to go ashore unless absolutely necessary.

C. Actions to be taken if drugs are found onboard

• Immediately notify the Club, the local P&I correspondent, and the shipowner or manager.
• It is very important that the master shows a high degree of co-operation with local authorities. This will result in a positive attitude on the part of the authorities, thereby avoiding unnecessary and costly delays.
• Immediately advise the police at the port. This can be done directly by the master, or through the vessel's agents, and will mitigate the risk of the master and the crew becoming part of the criminal investigation.
• Photograph or make a video of the area of the ship where the drugs are found, but leave the site untouched, and seal it off to prevent unauthorized access.
• If drugs are found on board, the crew members and the master may be temporarily placed in custody. They will be part of a preliminary investigation. The vessel will be detained at port for further investigation. Sometimes, when drugs are found within containers, the containers may be confiscated as evidence.

D. Additional comments and recommendations

• If possible in Colombian ports, members should avoid bunkering, ship's chandler services, and taking on provisions.
• A common place for hiding drugs is inside the rudder compartment. It is therefore recommended, for vessels calling repeatedly at Colombian ports, that a grating or other suitable barrier is fitted to prevent access.
• Underwater inspections at Barranquilla are not frequent because the waters are very murky and silted, making the visibility very low. Additionally the river current is fairly strong, and may seriously compromise the safety of divers. For these reasons it is extremely difficult for smugglers to work underwater and attach drugs to the vessel's hull.
• If, however, shipowners choose to perform an underwater survey at Barranquilla, it must be made outside the river waters in open sea, usually at a location called Caño Agua Dulce. These underwater surveys require the approval of the harbour master's office.
• It is mandatory for the vessel to maintain a pilot on board at all times during the survey. For this reason, the cost for these surveys can be very high, ranging between US$7,000 and US$12,000, even if the actual diving inspection costs only around US$3,500.
• If an underwater survey is carried out, particular attention should be paid to the bilge keels, sea chests, tunnel thruster gratings, sacrificial anodes, and the rudder trunk. Our local correspondents can assist with suggesting reliable diving/underwater inspection companies.
• It is very important to determine the rotation of the vessel. For example, if the vessel is calling at Acajutla and the north central American ports first, the risk of drug smuggling is minimal. The highest risk rotation is from Colombia, Panama, or Costa Rica, to North or Central American ports.

E. Punishment established under Colombian law

When drugs are found there are two separate authorities involved for different purposes as follows:

E.1 Harbour Master (HM) office, Port Authorities

In principle, the HM will investigate any breach of local maritime regulations. At the beginning of the investigation the HM is entitled to detain the vessel for further examination, or demand a guarantee. In the ordinary course of events, briefly explained, the procedure would have the following steps:

• HM opens the investigation, notifies the involved parties, and sets a date for the first hearing. During the first hearing the HM orders evidence and receives statements. If considered necessary the HM requests security to avoid the detention of the vessel. The parties file initial pleadings.
• The HM then analyses the evidence gathered.
• The parties file final pleadings, and the HM issues a first-instance decision.
• This decision is confirmed or revised by the Maritime Directorate.
• If the HM decides to open an investigation for breaches of maritime regulations, the proceedings may last around three years. In a worst-case scenario, the result of the investigation is a fine issued by the HM against the ship. Although in theory these fines could reach US$50,000, in practice they have almost never been higher than US$10,000.
• It takes about eight months to obtain the first decision by HM, and about two years to have it revised by the Maritime Directorate.

E.2 Public prosecutor - Criminal investigation

The Colombian judicial system is inquisitorial, and in principle criminal liability is directed against a specific named person. In a worst-case scenario a crew member is detained, and the crew has the right to be represented by a lawyer. Precautionary detention is a possibility when the authorities consider that a person is dangerous to the community, or amidst indications that the person will escape to avoid prosecution.

In general terms the Colombian criminal code states that there are two offenses related to drugs:

1. Any person involved in the traffic, production or carriage of illegal drugs will be subject to the penalty of imprisonment from eight to twenty years and a fine of between 1,000 and 50,000 Colombian monthly minimum wages.
2. Any person that may use or allow the use of movable goods for the production, storage or carriage of illegal drugs will be subject to the penalty of imprisonment from six to twelve years and a fine of between 1,000 to 50,000 Colombian monthly minimum wages.

If criminal liability is declared in the final instance, and where it is proven that the shipowner was involved with the drug trade, the vessel can be permanently seized by Colombian authorities. Criminal liability must be established by a judge in the final instance. In a hypothetical case where the public prosecutor involves a vessel in a criminal investigation, the prosecutor in principle has three options, in terms of the vessel's detention:

• Decide not to involve the vessel in the criminal investigation due to a lack of indications of liability of the vessel/crew (so clearance is granted).
• Formally involve the crew/vessel at the criminal investigation, but allow the vessel's departure on condition that the next time the vessel calls at port all the crew members and the master will be interviewed and the vessel inspected.
• Order the vessel's seizure, refusing her departure (keeping her in custody during the whole investigation).

Choice from these options depends on the circumstances of how the drugs were found. In any case, experience shows that in practice it is very unlikely that prosecutors will decide to seize the vessel. To detain it, the prosecutor must have strong indications that the shipowner or disponent owner was:

• Actively participating in the production, storage, carriage or sale of illegal drugs.
• Indirectly permitting the production, storage, carriage or sale of drugs due to grossly negligent conduct.

The crew, if not personally involved in any investigation, and in case the vessel is detained, may be repatriated without inconvenience.

Our recommendations

Even though the possibility of an illegal substance being concealed on board may be relatively low in Colombian ports, it is wise for members to consider these recommendations, especially if the members' rotation begins in a Colombian port.

The Association is grateful to our correspondents Marventura Services Ltd. and A&A Multiprime for contributing to this article.

https://www.skuld.com/topics/port/port-news/america/colombia-drug-smuggling-at-colombian-ports/