Illegal Disembarkation of Stowaways at Sea in the Cameroon

Douala's Harbour Master in charge of maritime immigration has just informed us that in an ever-increasing number of cases, ship's agents are taking it upon themselves to organise the disembarkation at sea of Cameroonian stowaways (or stowaways who embarked in the Cameroon) without following the official procedures.

They either fail to inform the appropriate authorities or persuade police officers who are not from the immigration department to assist them.

In order to make money from the shipowners on the fallacious pretext of speeding up the disembarkation process and reducing the costs, they do not inform vessels of the official stowaway disembarkation procedures and intentionally break the rules. In so doing, they render the vessels liable for the risks involved in disembarking stowaways at sea, including the death or injury of the parties concerned.

In the Cameroon, the disembarkation and handling of stowaways must be officially approved and carried out with the assistance of the Immigration Services even if the stowaways claim to be of Cameroon nationality or embarked in the Cameroon.

The Authorities have told us that they will introduce restrictions if this illegal business continues. They have asked us to warn our clients about the dangers to which such malpractice exposes them before a major incident occurs.

We would therefore recommend that the Clubs and their Members be on their guard and exercise due caution in dealing with stowaway cases. When human lives are involved, any failure to respect official procedures may have dramatic consequences for the vessel, its owners and even the P&I Club.

At the first major incident, the false economy of not appointing a reputable P&I Correspondent who both knows and respects the regulations in force will become self-evident.

Suzanne Moume, Budd Douala

02 Jul 2009 - 16:47:43