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News Desk EMEA cargo crimes top $152 million


Cargo thefts from supply chains in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) doubled last year to 8,548 incidents and involved product losses of EUR137 million ($152.22million). According to the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), the incident rate is the highest recorded in the body’s 23-year history. In its Incident Information Service


(IIS) Annual Report 2019, TAPA also reveals average losses for major cargo crimes of €536,889 and an average daily loss in the EMEA region last year of €378,058. The intelligence data is based on cargo losses reported to TAPA’s IIS by international law enforcement agencies, insurers, manufacturers and logistics service providers. Despite the high numbers, however, the association continues to emphasise that it is still not receiving reports on the large majority of cargo crimes it believes are taking place across the region. In 2019, the number of incidents


rose 114.7% to 8,548. Of these, only 39.1% of reports provided any financial value for the goods stolen. The association also recorded thefts from supply chains in more countries in the EMEA region than ever before – 48 in total compared with 35 in the previous year. Of this total, ten countries accounted for 94.6% of the cargo crimes reported in 2019. The biggest single loss reported to TAPA’s IIS in 2019 was the theft of €17,440,800 of


jewellery/precious metals from an origin facility in Gauteng province in South Africa. This was one of 19 crimes with seven- and eight-figure loss values. Overall, the 179 major cargo thefts last year – classified as incidents with a loss of €100,000 or more – represented a total loss of €96,103,152. Losses were recorded in 16


separate TAPA IIS product categories, with 12 suffering combined losses of €1 million or far higher – phones, clothing and footwear, cosmetics and hygiene products, car parts, computers/laptops, cash, jewellery/precious metals, furniture/household appliances, food and drink, metal, tobacco, sports equipment and no load (theft of truck and/or trailer). Trucks continued to be the biggest target for cargo thieves, featuring in 95% of all freight losses in the EMEA region. The lack of secure truck parking


remained one of the most significant contributors to these


crimes, with drivers forced to park their vehicles at service stations in laybys and on industrial estates while taking mandatory rest breaks. Attacks on trucks continued to mostly involve so-called ‘curtain slashing’ as thieves cut the tarpaulin curtains of parked trucks to reach the goods inside. Drivers also faced extreme violence in many of these attacks. At least two drivers lost their lives in cargo crimes in 2019, while others were threatened by violent offenders armed with guns, knives and other weapons. Other modus operandi used by


cargo thieves during the year included a significant number of fraudulent pick-ups by offenders using fake driver and company identities, and cloned vehicles – often after being awarded loads through online freight exchanges for available transport capacity. GPS jammers were once again used to block vehicle tracking signals in some truck hijackings, while the ‘blue light’ tactic to force drivers to stop their vehicles was another method reported to TAPA. Commenting on the 2019 data,


Thorsten Neumann, TAPA EMEA’s chief executive, said: “Cargo crime has been growing at a record rate in the EMEA region since 2014 and previous analysis by the European parliament and industry associations put the total cost at more than €8 billion a year in Europe alone.”


BIFAlink


FIATA provides update on DG certification


As the result of the training difficulties arising from Covid- 19 and noting that recurrent dangerous goods training has been severely constrained, many countries’ regulatory agencies have issued temporary extensions to existing dangerous goods training qualifications. FIATA has addressed with IATA


the need for an early decision on extending certifications that are set to expire in the near future, as well as considering an appropriate timeframe for renewal. FIATA is aware of the


preeminent position of IATA in dangerous goods by air training and it believes should take the leadership role in addressing a similar extension with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and its members’ respective aviation security organisations. IATA has advocated


consideration of current qualification validity extension at ICAO and national authority level. Several national authorities


have extended DG training validity. For the UK guidance from the Civil Aviation Authority see: http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/ modalapplication.aspx?catid=1& pagetype=65&appid=11&mode= detail&id=9535&filter=1


By sea – Hague Visby rules (2 SDR): £2.24 per kg £746.80 per package


By road – CMR (8.33 SDR): £9.33 per kg


By air –Montreal Convention (22 SDR): £24.64 per kg


June 2020


By air –Warsaw Convention (17 SDR): £19.04 per kg


BIFA STC: (2 SDR): £2.24 per kg


(The SDR rate on 18 May 2020, according to the IMF website, was 1.12019)


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