Stowaway prevention: best practice

Stowaways remain a significant security and operational risk for vessels calling at ports in West Africa. Two recent cases handled by Skuld once again highlight the persistent stowaway risk in the region and the importance of conducting thorough and systematic physical searches. Even where professional third-party security services and trained search dogs are employed, the vessel’s own search remains a critical element of effective stowaway prevention.

Effective prevention requires strict access control, vigilant watchkeeping and thorough, vessel-specific physical searches. Third-party security measures, including searches using trained dogs, should be regarded as an additional layer of protection and should supplement, rather than replace, the vessel’s own stowaway searches.

Recent cases and lessons learnt In the first case, in early August 2026, seven stowaways were discovered several days after the vessel’s departure, when they emerged from hiding. They claimed to have boarded at Tema, Ghana, and concealed themselves in the vessel’s crane house. The vessel had subsequently called at San Pedro, Côte d’Ivoire. Shore-based searches using trained dogs had been carried out before departure from both ports, but the stowaways remained undetected.

Two months later, another vessel discovered seven Ghanaian stowaways following a call at Tema. They reportedly boarded via the gangway and concealed themselves around the access ladder area of a cargo hold body hatch. Despite third-party searches using trained dogs, they remained undetected until several days after the vessel’s departure, when they emerged in search of food and water.

This story was originally published by Hellenic Shipping News. Read the full story at Hellenic Shipping News →