Italian authorities seize cocaine from MSC containership

The cocaine was discovered aboard the MSC Poh Lin, which according to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, operates on MSC’s California Express service.    Authorities in Italy discovered around 83 kilograms of cocaine aboard the MSC Poh Lin in Gioia Tauro July 8.
   The containership’s vessel master has been accused of vessel trafficking and 12 people have been arrested in the case so far, following the discovery of the complex scheme to offload the drugs at sea so they could be smuggled into Europe, gCaptain reported today. The scheme involved the recruitment of both port workers and the vessel’s captain, who used encrypted messages to communicate about the drugs.
   The mafia-type criminal organization Ndrangheta allegedly organized the scheme, gCaptain said.
   Approximately 300 officers from Italy’s finance police searched all 1,500 containers onboard the vessel, which is currently moored up at the Medcenter Container Terminal at the Port of Gioia Tauro, maritime news outlet Splash 24/7 said today.
   The unsealed container in which the cocaine was found was loaded in Chile and transshipped via Balboa, and its final destination was scheduled for Valencia, Spain, Splash 24/7 said.
   Ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting illustrates the MSC Poh Lin operates on MSC’s California Express service. The loop operates with 10 vessels averaging 5,024 TEUs and a rotation of Gioia Tauro, Civitavecchia, La Spezia, Valencia, Sines, Cristobal, Balboa, Manzanillo (Mexico), Long Beach, Oakland, Vancouver (British Columbia), Seattle, Oakland, Long Beach, Balboa, Cristobal and Gioia Tauro.