US Seizes $70k in Unreported Currency from COSCO Bulker

seized cash — Over $70,000 in unreported cash was seized from a COSCO bulker in Baltimore (CBP)

Officials of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized a large amount of unreported cash from a Chinese-owned bulker while it was in the port of Baltimore. While it is not a crime to have the cash aboard the ship, U.S. officials highlighted the reporting requirements while contending the captain of the ship had made the appropriate reports at other U.S. ports.

The incident began simply enough with a routine inspection of the bulker Sheng Ning Hai (56,716 dwt) when it arrived in the Port of Baltimore on January 21. CBP conducted a routine enforcement boarding of the bulker after it reached the port.

CBP highlights that one element of these inspections is for the vessel’s captain to report to CBP officers how much currency the vessel is carrying. The master of the bulker did not report any currency to CBP officers, although he had filed a report days earlier in Maine.

Under the law, those entering and departing the United States may carry any amount of currency and other monetary instruments that they choose. However, any amounts over $10,000 must be reported on a U.S. Treasury Department Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments form.

The CBP officers noticed that the master of the Sheng Ning Hai had filed a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 105 submission for $34,480 during an earlier port call in Searsport, Maine. Further, the officers learned that the vessel’s agent gave the master an additional $40,000 while in Maine.

CBP officers returned to the vessel the following day and conducted a more thorough examination of all spaces. The officers discovered a total of $70,737 in the purser’s safe.

“It is rare to see a commercial ship captain deliberately violate our nation’s laws,” said CBP’s Acting Director of the Baltimore Field Office, Matthew Suarez. He said that commercial vessel captains are required to understand and comply with the laws of the nation where they make port calls and that the office would continue to scrutinize foreign-flag vessels arriving at the port.

CBP’s announcement of the incident said the captain was “in hot water” after he failed to file the report for the additional $40,000 or amend the prior report from Maine. The cash was seized from the ship due to the lack of a report. The bulker was released and is continuing its journey. AIS signals show it is bound for Mombasa.