Corruption at ports and anchorages has long been one of shipping’s open secrets: “facilitation payments” and informal “gifts” demanded during inspections or clearance procedures, often presented as the price of keeping a vessel on schedule. A recent presentation covered by Seatrade Maritime News suggests that this pattern can, in fact, be broken.
Speaking at Seatrade Maritime Crew Connect Global in Manila, Capt. Leonid Zalenski, Group COO of Colombia Shipmanagement, described how his company’s scepticism turned into conviction after joining the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN). When they signed up, he admitted, management saw it as “the right thing to do” but doubted it would really change behaviour on the ground. Today, he calls the initiative a concrete success. 
MACN, founded in 2011, now counts over 220 member companies. The network operates helpdesks in sensitive locations such as India, Egypt, Nigeria and Ukraine, where demands for unofficial payments are considered endemic. The mechanism is deliberately simple:
1. Before arrival, the ship’s master notifies the local helpdesk.
2. If an official boards and requests money, gifts or other advantages, the master immediately reports the situation to MACN.
3. The case is then escalated through formal channels, signalling to authorities that the company is prepared to stand its ground and document irregularities. 
According to Capt. Zalenski, this support structure has changed the dynamic onboard. Masters no longer feel isolated in front of inspectors: they can point to the company’s membership in MACN and explain calmly that they are not authorised to pay anything beyond legitimate, receipted charges. Once officials understand that any penalty must be issued formally and settled through company accounts, many simply drop their demands.
The article notes that the approach does not ignore operational realities. Capt. Zalenski insists that health and safety remain non-negotiable: if the crew’s wellbeing or the security of the vessel is genuinely at risk, the company will prioritise protection over principle. But in the vast majority of cases, he says, standing firm – and knowing that the office will back the master – has proven enough to deter corrupt requests. 
For the wider maritime and logistics community, MACN’s experience carries several lessons:
• Anti-corruption work is more effective when companies act collectively rather than in isolation.
• Clear internal policies and strong shore-side support empower crews to refuse improper payments without fear of personal retaliation.
• Reducing informal demands at ports improves schedule reliability and cost predictability, which benefits charterers, cargo owners and ultimately consumers.
As trade lanes become more complex and regulatory scrutiny intensifies, the ability to document clean, compliant port calls is turning into a competitive advantage. The MACN case shows that fighting corruption is not only an ethical stance; it is also a way to de-risk global supply chains and build trust between shipowners, authorities and cargo interests.
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