Year: 2025/2026 Language: English Author: International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Publisher: International Chamber of Shipping Edition: 8 ISBN: 978-1-917308-37-3, 978-1-917308-38-0 Format: PDF Quality: OCR with errors Pages count: 265 Description: Drug trafficking is a huge criminal enterprise, involving enormous sums of money and a complex international network of often violent and highly organised cartels and gangs. Commercial shipping, unfortunately, can unwittingly play a significant part in the transportation of illicit drugs to the places where they are consumed. The shipping industry therefore shares a collective responsibility to assist in com batting this illegal traffic. This requires shipping companies, and ships' crews, to be constantly aware of the possibility that ships, and the cargo they carry, may be used as a cover for drug smuggling. This is also a matter of enlightened self-interest. In the event that illegal drugs are found on board a ship by local customs or law enforcement agencies, companies and seafarers may potentially be exposed to huge financial fines or penalties, or even the risk of imprisonment. Drug abuse also presents a serious threat to ships' crews, compounded by the direct connection between intravenous drug use and its associated health risks. Apart from the obvious impact of any illicit drug use on seafarers' health, it affects fitness for duty and compromises the safety of the ship. It also exposes crews to the wider consequences of being associated with serious criminal activity, a particular danger in those parts of the world where the strict rule of law cannot be taken for granted or where the death penalty for drug trafficking still applies. These Guidelines are intended to help shipping companies, Masters and ships' officers to combat drug trafficking and to recognise some of the signs of possible drug use among crew members. Cooperation with customs authorities is essential in fighting drug trafficking and, to that end, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding more than 30 years ago on the principles of such cooperation. The International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, held under UN auspices in 1987, welcomed the adoption of such agreements and called upon organisations such as ICS to prepare "standards or codes of conduct ... with a view to curbing the illicit traffic in drugs". ICS, in collaboration with the WCO, drew up Guidelines setting out some of the ways in which shipping companies and customs authorities can cooperate, and the current edition of these Guidelines supplements this initial advice with more practical information, updated to reflect recent developments. The latest edition of these Guidelines also includes a section on the implications of cyber risks for drug trafficking. In the preparation of the current and previous editions of these Guidelines, ICS has sought advice from several sources. Particular acknowledgement is made to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, the WCO, and customs authorities in the United Kingdom, the United States and Hong Kong, China.
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Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse On Board Ship
Language: English
Author: International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)
Publisher: International Chamber of Shipping
Edition: 8
ISBN: 978-1-917308-37-3, 978-1-917308-38-0
Format: PDF
Quality: OCR with errors
Pages count: 265
Description: Drug trafficking is a huge criminal enterprise, involving enormous sums of money and a complex international network of often violent and highly organised cartels and gangs. Commercial shipping, unfortunately, can unwittingly play a significant part in the transportation of illicit drugs to the places where they are consumed. The shipping industry therefore shares a collective responsibility to assist in com batting this illegal traffic. This requires shipping companies, and ships' crews, to be constantly aware of the possibility that ships, and the cargo they carry, may be used as a cover for drug smuggling. This is also a matter of enlightened self-interest. In the event that illegal drugs are found on board a ship by local customs or law enforcement agencies, companies and seafarers may potentially be exposed to huge financial fines or penalties, or even the risk of imprisonment.
Drug abuse also presents a serious threat to ships' crews, compounded by the direct connection between intravenous drug use and its associated health risks. Apart from the obvious impact of any illicit drug use on seafarers' health, it affects fitness for duty and compromises the safety of the ship. It also exposes crews to the wider consequences of being associated with serious criminal activity, a particular danger in those parts of the world where the strict rule of law cannot be taken for granted or where the death penalty for drug trafficking still applies.
These Guidelines are intended to help shipping companies, Masters and ships' officers to combat drug trafficking and to recognise some of the signs of possible drug use among crew members. Cooperation with customs authorities is essential in fighting drug trafficking and, to that end, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding more than 30 years ago on the principles of such cooperation. The International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, held under UN auspices in 1987, welcomed the adoption of such agreements and called upon organisations such as ICS to prepare "standards or codes of conduct ... with a view to curbing the illicit traffic in drugs". ICS, in collaboration with the WCO, drew up Guidelines setting out some of the ways in which shipping companies and customs authorities can cooperate, and the current edition of these Guidelines supplements this initial advice with more practical information, updated to reflect recent developments.
The latest edition of these Guidelines also includes a section on the implications of cyber risks for drug trafficking. In the preparation of the current and previous editions of these Guidelines, ICS has sought advice from several sources. Particular acknowledgement is made to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, the WCO, and customs authorities in the United Kingdom, the United States and Hong Kong, China.
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