Lashing Detection (Stowaway)

The targeted inspection of a ship’s void and access spaces before departure to find stowaways hidden in places like the rudder trunk, chain locker, void spaces, ballast tanks, store rooms, and cargo. The IMO FAL Convention and the 2002 IMO Guidelines on the Allocation of Responsibilities to Seek the Successful Resolution of Stowaway Cases (Resolution A.871(20), updated by FAL.13(42)) call for a documented pre-departure search, recorded in the ship’s security and stowaway-search checklists, to deter and detect concealment.