Singapore Warns Owners and Agents Over False Vessel Data Filed for Port Calls
Agents are told to check registrations against GISIS before filing certificates with the port master
Singapore has put shipowners and port agents on notice over the use of false or unverifiable vessel information, warning that fraudulent data submitted to secure port calls or clearance could result in enforcement action.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said all information supplied in connection with vessel arrivals and port clearance must be accurate, singling out data covering a ship's identity, registration, ownership, cargoes and trading history.
In a port marine circular issued this week, the authority said it would take action against parties found deliberately using false, misleading or unverifiable information to facilitate, conceal or legitimise illicit activity.
Owners and their appointed port agents have also been told to carry out basic checks on vessel registrations through the International Maritime Organization's Global Integrated Shipping Information System, known as GISIS, before filing certificates of registry and statutory trading certificates with the port master. That places a verification duty on the agent rather than leaving it with the port, and it is a duty the agent can discharge only by looking the ship up rather than by passing on what the owner supplied.
The circular separately reminds port users that Singapore implements United Nations Security Council sanctions and requires suspicious transaction reports where there are reasonable grounds to believe a vessel or other property could be connected to criminal conduct. Failure to file such a report may constitute a criminal offence.
The warning comes as authorities worldwide contend with a sharp increase in fraudulent ship registrations. The IMO has identified 529 vessels flying flags of convenience fraudulently or otherwise operating under false flags, 356 of which were not classed by any classification society. Its Legal Committee followed in April with new guidelines aimed at strengthening registration due diligence and ownership transparency.
For a port that handles the volume Singapore does, the practical effect is to move the identity question forward in the process. A ship whose registration cannot be confirmed against the IMO database is now a problem before it arrives, rather than a finding made after it is alongside.
