Op-Ed: Tide is Turning on Maritime Corruption, But We Must Finish the Job

The maritime industry is notoriously susceptible to the virus of corruption. However, after spending a year as member of the Maritime Anti Corruption Network (MACN), I believe we are starting to see signs that concerted action is beginning to pay off.  It is now becoming better understood that the layers of bureaucracy that surround a ship in port – up to seven industry organizations and seven government bodies – can no longer be exploited with impunity.

The MACN can take large credit for this. Founded in 2011, its work has gathered pace in the last five years in particular. It now has 220 members, including ship owners representing a quarter of global tonnage. In addition, regulators such as flag states like ourselves are adding ballast to the campaign. Far from being a paper tiger, this is giving the MACN teeth evidenced by the now 65,000 anonymous incident reports detailing first-hand accounts of corrupt demands across more than 1,300 ports.  This includes more than 5000 bribery reports in 2023.

Having the ability to report incidents anonymously is vital to encourage senior officers to blow the whistle on the totally unac…