Dear members,
A number of members have informed us that there appears to be a spike in apparently fraudulent offers for non-existent shipments, where the shipowner is asked to transfer the agency costs in advance to the alleged loadport agent. These offers appear to be focussed primarily on the Turkish market, whereby it is unclear if the cargoes actually exists or whether the parties involved have an interest in the cargo in question.
We recommend that when members are offered cargoes involving advance payment to an agent and/or unknown parties, they verify the existence of the cargo and the veracity of the offer.
In the event that you have concerns about any specific incident, we invite you to contact the NNPC.