Corruption in European ports: a growing phenomenon inextricably linked to illicit trafficking at sea
The picture is of the port of Genoa, Italy, which includes the loading wharf and cranes. Source: Risk Intelligence
17 July 2023
As most illegal goods transit by sea, ports play an essential interface role before the goods reach their destination. To this end, criminal groups have had to infiltrate ports, particularly European ones, to move their illicit shipments, reminding us that the human factor plays a central role in this traffic.
By Louis Borer, Senior analyst
Ports act as an interface and interaction point between sea and land, where ships, crews and logistics teams, and private sector and state agencies meet and cross paths, involving a large number of different actors, depending on the size of the port. This multitude of players contributes to the complexity - and even opacity - of the legal and illegal activities that take place in the port, through which drugs and contraband arrive by sea.
Europol's latest report, published in April, provides an overview of the complex logistical organisation of European ports and their infiltration by criminal networks. Although the report focuses on the ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg, almost 300 other ports in Europe are involved, from Spain to Germany, by way of Sweden. On the one hand, the main European ports play the role of redistribution hubs towards the hinterland of the continent through their connections to rail, river and road networks, offering interconnections and entry and exit points to a large number of actors, who are often difficult to map. On the other hand, medium-sized ports, which are less closely monitored, are of growing interest to criminal groups, which are showing considerable capacity to adapt and redeploy their activities according to risks and opportunities.
These criminal groups are using increasingly sophisticated means to infiltrate port operations. In particular, they play on the human factor, which is more difficult to anticipate, and target all profiles likely to play a role of interest in the logistics chain. The sharp rise in drug production in recent years means that there is more cargo to move, and therefore potentially more people to bribe, and every means is deployed to achieve this. In cases where corruption is not convincing enough, methods of intimidation, threats and even violence are used. Anyone in any sector, public or private, is likely to fall victim to one of these pressure tactics.
By way of example, the cases of the MSC GUYANE, seized in 2019 in the port of Philadelphia with 20 tonnes of cocaine on board, or the more recent case of the MSC LORENA last January, on board which 2.4 tonnes of cocaine were discovered, proved the involvement of crew members and dockside personnel of various profiles.
In an attempt to limit the phenomenon, a number of leading shipping companies announced in February their intention to collaborate and communicate in order to limit the use of their ships and facilities by smugglers, and to exchange more information with government agencies. A number of initiatives are being deployed in the main ports concerned to try to curb the phenomenon as much as possible, but the human component, which is central to smuggling, remains the most difficult to manage.
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