Shipping agents seek help in fighting documentation fraud

Shipping agents have sought the cooperation of banks and insurance underwriters to curb fraud in sea cargo, particularly that involving documentation. The recent one-day symposium, "Interactive Workshop on Bills of Lading" felt that the ever-present threat of fraud demands high-level vigilance.

The symposium organised by the Cambridge Academy of Transport for the Dubai Shipping Agents Association (DSAA) was inaugurated by Jamal Majid bin Thaniah, managing director of Dubai Ports Authority (DPA). Bin Thaniah condemned the growing incidence of fraud in international transport.

Saadi Rais, president of DSAA, emphasised the need for constant vigilance in the fight against documentation fraud, which costs the industry millions of dollars a day. The symposium noted that despite the slowdown in the growth of international trade, container cargo will continue to expand at a worldwide rate of 5 to 8 per cent annually. In the UAE, container traffic will maintain double-digit growth for the foreseeable future.

General trade expansion in the UAE will place even greater performance pressures on the shipping community and banking and insurance. The combined forces of increased cargo volumes and changing operating patterns in international transportation will present even greater opportunities for fraud.

Closer cargo inspections prior to release of either the documents or the goods is not consdered practical, thus the symposium concluded that far greater security is necessary in the processing of shipping documents, especially bills of lading.

Electronic processing of documentation is inevitable, in keeping with the growth in e-commerce. However, reservations were expressed regarding the security measures needed if paperless transactions are to reduce the potential for fraud. Such electronic processes would inevitably require changes in UAE maritime laws.