Trend of fraudulent PSC requests emerging
The Bahamas Maritime Authority has issued an alert following being advised by the Caribbean MoU of incidents involving requests for vessel’s information from parties claiming to be representatives of Port State Control.…
The Bahamas Maritime Authority has issued an alert following being advised by the Caribbean MoU of incidents involving requests for vessel’s information from parties claiming to be representatives of Port State Control (PSC).
“The Danish Maritime Authority has been advised by the Caribbean MoU that a Dutch ship received a message, allegedly from a PSC captain at the Danish port of Esbjerg, requesting various information,” the alert states. “In addition, Cyprus alerted Paris MoU to a similar message in 2014, allegedly from a PSC captain at the Cypriot port of Limassol.”
While Limassol may be a slightly more superyacht relevant port, the recent trend means that the fraudulent requests could be occurring elsewhere and should be on captains’ radars. In both cases, the alleged PSC officer does not exist and the messages were not sent from the respective PSC Authorities. Both messages were sent from the email address government@portstatecontrol.co. The messages both request various ship’s details including waste removal, bunker notifications, crew lists and port services required during the port visit.
“It is believed that the intention is to obtain documents with the signature of the master and the vessel’s stamp,” the alert explains. “The signature and stamp are then transferred to a fictional bill for services allegedly done in the port, which is presented [to the management] for payment.”
Captains are being requested to take note of the above incidents and are advised to treat any messages received from the aforementioned email address with suspicion. “The authenticity of any such emails should be checked with the local authorities,” the alert advises.
The full alert can be read here.
“The Danish Maritime Authority has been advised by the Caribbean MoU that a Dutch ship received a message, allegedly from a PSC captain at the Danish port of Esbjerg, requesting various information,” the alert states. “In addition, Cyprus alerted Paris MoU to a similar message in 2014, allegedly from a PSC captain at the Cypriot port of Limassol.”
While Limassol may be a slightly more superyacht relevant port, the recent trend means that the fraudulent requests could be occurring elsewhere and should be on captains’ radars. In both cases, the alleged PSC officer does not exist and the messages were not sent from the respective PSC Authorities. Both messages were sent from the email address government@portstatecontrol.co. The messages both request various ship’s details including waste removal, bunker notifications, crew lists and port services required during the port visit.
"The signature and stamp are then transferred to a fictional bill for services allegedly done in the port."
“It is believed that the intention is to obtain documents with the signature of the master and the vessel’s stamp,” the alert explains. “The signature and stamp are then transferred to a fictional bill for services allegedly done in the port, which is presented [to the management] for payment.”
Captains are being requested to take note of the above incidents and are advised to treat any messages received from the aforementioned email address with suspicion. “The authenticity of any such emails should be checked with the local authorities,” the alert advises.
The full alert can be read here.
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