Human Trafficking Cargo Ships

This page offers information, training, printable materials, graphics, and resources for maritime industry personnel to counter human trafficking. But vessels engaged in nefarious activities, including illegal fishing and human trafficking, often disable their AIS data to avoid detection. Many trafficking cases involve dark fleet ships, and this behavior is common on sanctioned tankers and ships smuggling weapons or wildlife.

Human trafficking is a cruel violation of human rights, and has occurred in dozens of U.S. industries, including multiple maritime industries. Human trafficking cases have been identified in the fishing, cargo, and cruise industries in U.S.

ports in recent years. Human trafficking within the shipping industry is a dark reality that remains largely hidden beneath the surface of global commerce. Ports like Hamburg, Esbjerg, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam,...

Exploiters of human trafficking and smuggling take advantage of the extensive and unidentified maritime pathways, employing a range of watercrafts, including cargo ships and small fishing boats, to transport people across borders or subject them to exploitative labor or sexual exploitation. Although it is quietly hidden, human trafficking thrives during times of chaos and vulnerability. The maritime community can benefit from an improved understanding of human trafficking and learning how employees at seaports can play a key role in helping vulnerable people.

Often, human trafficking uses commercial aviation and maritime containers as methods of transport. Animal trafficking is often carried out through maritime and aviation cargo transport. We support port authorities in these efforts in both these illegal transnational crimes.

Seaports are a critical checkpoint for stopping human trafficking. Employees working at ports can be turned into advocates for human trafficking victims when they are properly trained to... Human trafficking is a crime that involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain labor or a commercial sex act.

All commercial sex involving a minor is legally considered human trafficking, regardless of force, fraud, or coercion. Seaports face particular challenges in identifying and combating human trafficking due to the transient nature of the maritime industry. The fast-paced environment, frequent turnover of personnel, and a lack of awareness among workers all pose obstacles to detecting human trafficking activities.