UK insurer International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has warned of people traffickers posing as vessel operators to smuggle illegal immigrants through ports.
ITIC wants its ship agent and port agent members to be on their guard against approaches from gangs.
The smugglers pretend to be shipping companies and ask agents to handle a change of crew, including booking travel and accommodation.
This gives them a degree of legitimacy and provides a cover for their illegal operations, the club said.
Often the ship agent will make the arrangements but the migrants will simply disappear, the insurer added.
The request from the migrant smugglers, posing as the shipowner, may take a number of forms, ITIC told TradeWinds.
Agents have in the past addressed a letter to a country's embassy in the developing world, requesting visas for "seafarers" who are travelling to the agent's country to join a ship.
Alternatively, the agent is asked to notify an airline that it is OK for the "crew" to board a particular flight.
"Remember, legitimate crew changes may involve these services," ITIC told TradeWinds.
"Once the agent has complied with the request, he is asked to meet the crew at the airport and take them to a hotel to await the arrival of the ship, which is expected within days."
The ship never arrives and the crew disappear either from the airport or a hotel.
"We have had immigrants be taken by the agent to a hotel for an overnight stay but the main purpose is to get them into the country – they then disappear," ITIC said.
Not a new scam
"They have no intention of getting on a ship. The purpose of the scam is for the individuals to arrive in a country where they are allegedly going to join a ship."
The vessel is either fictitious or more usually not calling at the port.
Andrew Jamieson, ITIC's claims director, said: "This is not a new issue but we have seen a re-emergence of this scam.
"Sadly, in the past some of our members have fallen for this scam and have been left with unpaid hotel bills and other expenses. More seriously, they can face fines from the immigration authorities plus liability for detention and repatriation costs if the migrants are caught."
Jamieson said the coronavirus pandemic has impacted heavily on crew changes and this appears to have shifted the focus away from people smuggling.
He warned traffickers are resourceful and can pass themselves off as a legitimate vessel operator.
Be vigilant
"Not every offer of business is genuine and due diligence should be carried out on all potential new clients. We urge our members, and others, to remain extremely vigilant," Jamieson added.
The issue of people smuggling and stowaways hit the headlines in October with a UK military operation to remove seven Nigerian men from a Navios Maritime Acquisition product tanker off the English coast.
This has added to the security concerns of ships trading to the Gulf of Guinea, where piracy is also an ongoing problem.
The 75,000-dwt Nave Andromeda (built 2011) was rescued by the UK's elite special boat squadron after it sent out a Mayday when seven stowaways, which had boarded at Lagos, became hostile.
Before that, the vessel had reportedly been denied access to Spanish and French ports.
