MSC suspends some land operations in Brazil due to threat of drug trafficking

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Global container shipping company MSC has decided to suspend some land operations in Brazil, fearing that drug cartels may use containers bound for North America and Europe.

In a notice sent last week by MSC to its customers in Brazil, the shipping line claimed that criminals were intercepting containers in an attempt to ship drugs abroad.

The company stated that “criminal actions have victimized the company, customers, and partners and threaten its operations.”

In light of this situation, MSC decided to indefinitely suspend consolidation and pre-stacking operations for export containers shipped by road, rail, and barge. “This only affects some intermodal operations, including container consolidation in Brazil,” an MSC spokesperson told Splash.

The news comes in parallel with MSC’s preparation to strengthen its coverage in Brazil by acquiring Brazilian regional container transport operator Log-In Logistica.

In recent years, MSC has been affected by anti-narcotics operations, which even led US authorities to temporarily withdraw the shipping line’s Customs-Trade Partnership (C-TPAT) certification following the seizure of a cocaine shipment valued at US$1.1 billion on board the “MSC Gayane” in 2019.

According to the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), Nearly 90% of all cocaine, 45% of all cannabis, and 30% of all amphetamine-type stimulants seized worldwide between January 2017 and April 2020 were trafficked by sea.

Brazil’s principal port, Santos, was described as “the hub of the global cocaine trade” in a report published in early January by InSight Crime, a platform covering organized crime in Latin America.