The penalties of stowaways

When a vessel was attempting to leave the berth, the presence of a stowaway onboard was discovered. The ship agent immediately contacted the Immigration Authorities to ask them to remove the stowaway, but failed to notify the port authorities to obtain a time extension for leaving the berth. As a result of vessel’s delay in leaving the berth, the port authorities imposed a penalty of USD 5,000 and refused to grant port clearance until the penalty had been paid. It was late in the evening when the ship agent received notice of the penalty and it could not be settled until the banks opened the following morning. In addition to the penalty the ship owner incurred considerable costs as a result of the delay in departure of the vessel. ITIC covered the costs plus the penalty.