Stowaway Disembarkation and Repatriation
In the event stowaways are found on board a vessel, the P&I Club will assist Members in arranging disembarkation and repatriation. To enable this to happen as soon as possible it is vital that Members advise the Club as soon as they become aware of the presence of stowaways on board an entered ship.
If stowaways are found they should ideally be sent ashore as soon as practical. However, this may be difficult if they do not have identification or are not of the nationality of that country.
Disembarkation of stowaways can be extremely difficult, largely dependent on the nationality of the stowaways, the availability of identification documentation, the vessel’s future schedule and most importantly the co-operation of the immigration authorities and port officials at the vessel’s future ports of call. Further, the vessel may be fined, or even placed under quarantine, if the stowaway does not have appropriate inoculation certificates and/or is suspected to be suffering from a contagious disease or has come from an area of infection.
The following paragraphs summarise the steps that need to be taken for the successful resolution of a stowaway case.
Reporting The master should contact the ship operators and the agent at the next port of call. The shipowners must contact the P&I Club as soon as possible, but the master should also carry details of P&I correspondents so that he or she can contact the correspondent at the next port directly.
Whilst the stowaways are on board the master should ensure that they are declared to the authorities at each port. Failure to declare their presence may result in serious consequences for the master and the vessel, such as criminal charges against the master, delay to the vessel and/or a substantial fine. The agent should be able to advise on local procedures and obligations and ensure the appropriate parties are properly notified.
In many countries the authorities will give no assistance, so that getting a stowaway disembarked is impossible even if the necessary travel documents have been arranged. The immigration authority at the next port should then be notified. The P&I Club will coordinate with the P&I correspondents at the vessel’s scheduled ports until the stowaways are successfully disembarked and repatriated.
Obtaining travel documents
Immigration authorities will only grant permission for a stowaway to be repatriated if he or she has the correct travel documents, or temporary travel documents have been issued by a national embassy or consulate. Before the P&I correspondent can approach an embassy or consulate for travel documents, the identity of the stowaway must be established. This is not always an easy matter and further questioning using an interpreter may be necessary. It may require skilled interviewers to obtain truthful answers from the stowaway. Or deduce their nationality by their manner of speech and local dialect. Again, passport- style photographs of the stowaway and a full set of fingerprints will often be required.
Once all the information has been obtained, the P&I correspondent can apply at the national embassy or consulate of the stowaway. Embassy officials may sometimes interview a stowaway to satisfy themselves that he or she is one of their nationals before they will issue temporary travel documents. Arrangements would then be made for the documentation to be sent to the appropriate embassy or consulate in order that identification can be verified and hopefully an emergency travel document can be obtained. Often several embassies are contacted before a stowaway’s true nationality and identity is confirmed.
Invariably, even if a stowaway makes a claim of refugee status or political asylum very few authorities will allow their disembarkation without a travel document. Under no circumstances should a stowaway be forced into making a claim for political asylum against his will. If, however he expresses a wish to make an application the stowaway should make a written request in his own language stating reasons why he cannot return to his home country and this application should be provided to the immigration authorities at the next port of call.
Repatriation
Once emergency travel documents have been obtained it is then necessary to obtain the consent of the immigration officials, to agree to the disembarkation and repatriation of the stowaway. This can be difficult due to the attitude of immigration officials in a number of jurisdictions who are not willing to assist.
In ports where disembarkation is allowed, there are often strict conditions attached, for example, repatriation must be completed prior to the vessel’s departure or alternatively the authorities may require a guarantee in respect of potential costs involved. It is then necessary to consider the most direct and cost effective flight schedule. In most circumstances either the immigration or airline authorities will insist that stowaways are escorted. It is essential that when arranging flights, consideration needs to be given as to whether visas will be required for transit airports. It is also necessary to obtain the approval of the airline.
Once all the necessary arrangements have been made repatriation of the stowaways can at last take place.