TheNorth of England P&I Club reports exports of the key steel makingingredient from Mexico have been complicated since late April 2014.

Itsays serious problems have been experienced by four vessels calling atManzanillo to load iron ore cargoes.

“Recentlythe shipments on board two vessels were confiscated by customs authoritiesafter they had been loaded,” the club said in a note to its members.

Inboth cases the authorities alleged that the characteristics of the iron ore didnot correspond with those from the mine declared in the customs exportapplication.

"Theaction subsequently taken by the authorities prevented each vessel from sailingand the cargo had to be discharged before they were released,” the club said.

“Itis understood that customs authorities attended on board both vessels and tooksamples of the cargoes already loaded.

“Thesesamples were then sent to a lab for analysis, checking its characteristics andcomposition against that of the customs export application economy secretariatform obtained by the exporters and the shippers.

“In both cases, this comparison showed that thecargo did not originate from the mine declared in the cargo documentation."

Theclub says the Finance and Public Credit Secretariat then issued a temporaryseizure order for the iron ore and the navy secured the vessel and crew.

“Inline with local customs laws, the authority initiated an administrative trial(named PAMA) and proceeded to confiscate the cargo,” the club said.

“Asthe cargo had been confiscated it subsequently cannot be exported until thelegal process is completed and with no predictable date of commencement of thelegal process, both vessels were faced with potentially lengthy delays.”

Localmedia sources reported that the authorities were tipped off by an anonymousphone call after one ship departed Lazaro Cardenas.

Inboth cases, they reported that the detention of these ships is part of a largescale operation by the administration against organized crime cartels involvedin money laundering.

Mexicohas reportedly seized more than 200,000t of illegal iron ore in recent months,most of it on its way to China.

The club warns owners that any ship loading ironore in Mexico should take additional precautions in respect of the cargodocumentation.