MSC Begins to Roll Out $100 Million Security Revamp After 2019 Drug Bust

After a colossal drug bust aboard the MSC Gayane in 2019, MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) is implementing extensive security measures projected to cost $100 million from 2019 to 2024.

MSC is the world’s largest ocean carrier, surpassing Maersk in 2020. In 2019, the MSC Gayane was searched by law enforcement in Philadelphia. 20 tons of cocaine in seven separate shipping containers were found aboard the ship. Eight crew members were involved in smuggling the drugs, with some still awaiting trial.

MSC, who asserts “that it had robust anti-smuggling procedures in place for years before the MSC Gayane incident,” has already spent tens of millions of dollars enhancing security aboard its ships since then. The company has hired security guard teams and have installed remote-controlled CCTV security cameras to monitor its ships and the containers aboard. Canine unit inspections and dive team inspections are also routine.

MSC is pushing the development of ‘smart containers:’ containers that issue an alert if they are opened or tampered with.  

Despite these new efforts, over 27,000 MSC employees are still struggling with the “stain” the incident has put on the company’s image and the way it’s undermined their years of work.   

Source: FreightWaves