On 6 January, the Wall Street Journal reported that officials say the growing scale of shipping operations, with the biggest container ships doubling in size over the past decade, have made them an attractive target for drug traffickers. It is reported that the rule of thumb around the world is that only 1 in 10 containers gets checked. Seizures of cocaine aboard commercial ships and private vessels world-wide more than tripled over the past 3 years. It is said that the moves by drug smugglers to piggyback on their operations raises new concerns for international supply chains, and cocaine is increasingly being moved by ships doing regional South America sailings.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-shipping-faces-troubling-new-smuggling-questions-11578330634