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Four stowaways boarded a vessel at Buenaventura, Colombia, which was calling at Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, and bound for Crockett, California.
Several unsuccessful attempts were made to disembark them in various Central American ports (Ajacutla, Salvador and Puerto Quetzal itself) but authorities rejected Owners’/Club’s requests.
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| Roberto says |
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As the vessel was heading for the U.S., we were instructed to attempt repatriation from Mexico. We conducted negotiations with Immigration, Sanitary and Port authorities in Mexico City, Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas – the most suitable ports for repatriation – and were finally successful in obtaining permission to disembark at Lazaro Cardenas.
One of the main difficulties was the fact that the vessel was not programmed to call at a Mexican port, therefore it was tricky to persuade authorities to allow the vessel to berth at Lazaro Cardenas for the sole purpose of repatriation.
Under Mexican Law, the discovery of stowaways implies a breach of the ISPS Code. Therefore, if repatriation is to take place from Mexico, a hefty fine is applicable in most cases, as well as potential delays and unforeseen complications.
Fortunately, we managed to bypass this breach alleging the FAL Convention and humanitarian reasons.
Owners/Clubs may sigh with relief once the stowaways have disembarked and the vessel sailed, but for us, only half the work is done. The Colombians were transported under police escort by road from Lazaro Cardenas to Morelia’s Immigration station (about 220 miles inland) where they were detained until completion of Consular formalities, arranged and organised by us – Embassies don’t normally attend at the Immigration station.
The final step was to organise a repatriation schedule (on 25th December! – stowaways seem to prefer high season) for 4 stowaways and 2 escorts on a single row in the airplane.
As the above shows, provided negotiations with the various authorities are successful (and this depends on the particular circumstances of each case), it is feasible and cost-effective (in comparison, for example, with the U.S.) to repatriate stowaways from Mexico. |
