TANKERS BECOMING BIGGER TARGET FOR DRUG SMUGGLERS

TANKERS BECOMING BIGGER TARGET FOR DRUG SMUGGLERS    Drug smugglers are finding more ways to hide their illicit cargo on tankers operating between South and North America.
   “In comparison to reefer and container ships, it’s more difficult to hide drugs in tanker cargo,” said Thomas Timlen of the Baltic and International Maritime Council, an ocean carrier and ship agents group which tracks drug smuggling trends.
   More smugglers are gaining access to tanker vessel compartments during loading or using divers to attach shipments to the hulls of ships.
   U.S. and South American government law enforcement agencies haven’t looked at tankers as closely for drug shipments as they have with reefer and container ships, Timlen said.
   In two incidents last week, 300 pounds of cocaine was found hidden onboard two Panamanian-registered tankers owned by the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. The tankers were destined to the United States. The drugs were discovered and reported by crews during routine vessel searches.
   In another case earlier this month, the U.S. Navy stopped a vessel off the coast of Ecuador as part of an ongoing investigation by federal authorities in Tampa, Fla. Three tons of cocaine were found on the tanker and six crew members were arrested on drug charges.