The essence of the recommendations centres on compliance with international obligations, co-operation among states and the general measures and procedures that could be taken. Finally, to prevent and suppress these unsafe practices, countries concerned should provide reports on incidents and the measures taken to IMO as soon as possible. This information will be used for the purpose of updating or revising the circular, as necessary. The format of the report is given in the Appendix of the circular. The issue on stowaway and trafficking or transport of migrants by sea in containers under extremely harsh conditions has been receiving worldwide attention because of the recent spate of incidents on ships bound for the US ports.
Some measures are in place to combat such activities.
However it is recognised that more needs to be done at international level. Until a binding instrument is agreed upon at the international level we would have to rely on co-operation among the parties concerned. MPA is of the view that the IMO guidelines would be a good starting point towards solving the stowaway problem and every party must play its part towards this end, even if the guidelines may not be acceptable in its entirety to States. Access governed by these terms .