A series of “spurious” timber shipments allegedly originating from South-east Asia have been uncovered by the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
The irregularities, found following routine checks, involve Bills of Lading puportedly for containerised shipments from Malaysia to North Africa and the Middle East. All feature the same supplier and carrier.
IMB said the stated vessels had not called at the port of loading around the stated time of loading.
Additional enquiries indicated the port of loading had no record of the stated cargo, nor could cargoes be traced at the nominated discharge ports.
In one case only three of 20 container numbers listed were found to be genuine. Further enquiries established that one of these containers was making a trans-Atlantic voyage at the time it was allegedly loaded in Malaysia.
“These recent examples indicate that fraudsters are producing documents that on their face and at first glance, appear like the genuine document,” said IMB assistant director Michael Howlett.
The IMB is advising members of the shipping and investment community to be alert to irregularities in timber trade originating from South-east Asia.
