Anti-corruption

We aim to eliminate corruption in the maritime industry through both multi-stakeholder collaboration and taking action in our own operations.

The issue

Corruption is a systemic issue with customs and practices deeply ingrained in societies and communities. These practices are not easily altered and taking a stand can, in many cases, result in commercial losses. In A.P. Moller - Maersk, we work against all forms of corruption including reducing and eliminating facilitation payments, which are commonplace in the shipping and logistics industries. To increase the likelihood of success, we were instrumental in creating a collaborative forum to combat corruption in the maritime industries.

Corruption undermines social and economic development. It destabilises the business environment, adds to the cost of participating in global trade and has significant negative impact on the markets and countries we operate in. Furthermore, it affects external confidence (public trust) as well as company morale. For A.P. Moller - Maersk, non-compliance with legislation on bribery and corruption may lead to legal and reputational risks, extra costs, inefficiencies in our business and ultimately debarment from markets.

What we do

Risk of corruption is found primarily in our interactions with authorities over controls and approvals in ports and border controls, mostly in the shape of facilitation payments. We are focused on and registered zero facilitation payments on our own vessels, and a 47% reduction by chartered ships compared to 2018.

These results are achieved through clear communication and collaboration between the vessels, the shipowners and Maersk, making it very clear that we support the crew in avoiding any payments. We also continue our membership of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network, which works at an industry level. The A.P. Moller-Maersk whistleblower hotline allows for reporting on suspected corruption and bribery cases. When such reports are filed, we deal with them according to the procedure in the whistleblower system.

Risk of corruption can also be found in our terminals in government agreements on concessions. Risk in our supply chain is managed mainly through our Responsible Procurement programme.

We work to combat bribery, fraud, kickbacks and preferential treatment, by performing due diligence of agents, joint venture partners, key suppliers, and mergers and acquisitions targets prior to signing a contract. We assess the corruption risks before acquiring a company or entering a new market. We enforce rules on travel, meals, lodging and entertainment, and employees complete training on compliance. 

A.P. Moller - Maersk Whistleblower System

Information about MACN - Learn more here

Learn more

• Progress 2019
• Progress 2020