Cargo fraud
A small uninsured reefer ship was arrested at an up river port in West Africa for a USD1.1 million for alleged damage to cargo, which influential local receivers claimed had had to be destroyed by order of the local phytosanitary authority. We deployed to the port and through careful investigation were able to establish that the destruction certificate presented by the receivers was fraudulent and that the cargo had been sold, not destroyed. After forcible representations by one of our associates to the receivers, the claim was settled for a small token face-saving sum and the ship released.