How to Verify a Ship Supply Enquiry: Bank Details, Authority and Red Flags

A fake ship chandler enquiry is an inbound request that quotes a real vessel, a plausible ETA and a believable PDA figure, then pushes you to quote fast and ship faster. Verify five things before you commit stores or bank details: vessel identity, any change to bank details, the sender's authority to buy, PDA consistency, and sanctions exposure.

Why fake enquiries work on port suppliers

Port supply runs on speed. A chandler, bunker supplier or agent often has hours, not days, to confirm a stem or a stores order before the vessel sails.

That pressure is the attack surface. Fraudsters copy a real vessel name from AIS, attach a real port and ETA, and send a purchase enquiry that looks like every other one in your inbox.

The wider threat environment is not helping. A cyber extortion group known as n0n added 38 shipping, port and logistics organisations to its dark web leak site in a single batch on 12 October 2026, according to Splash247, with ransoms demanded by 19 October. The Loadstar reported the same batch of named organisations.

Stolen mailbox and contact data is exactly what makes a fake enquiry convincing. Treat every inbound request as unverified until the five checks below are done.

Check 1: Vessel identity (IMO number first)

Start with the IMO number, not the vessel name. Names are reused, misspelled and cloned; the seven-digit IMO number is not.

Confirm that the name, IMO number, flag and vessel type match across AIS, the registry record and the enquiry itself. A 2011-built Supramax with 56,000 DWT does not become a 2023-built Ultramax in the same email thread.

• Does the stated ETA match the vessel's current AIS position and speed?
• Is the vessel actually heading to your port, or is it on a different leg?
• Does the flag match the registry record, or has the vessel recently changed flag?

Flag changes are legitimate and common. Stena Bulk registered Stena Imperator under the Swedish flag in October 2026, following the reflagging of the Suezmax Stena Superior in Shenzhen, as reported by MarineLink. The point is not that a flag change is suspicious. The point is that the enquiry, the AIS record and the registry should tell the same story.

Check 2: Bank detail changes (the highest-risk request)

A change of bank details inside an active enquiry is the single clearest red flag in ship supply fraud. No legitimate buyer changes the beneficiary account of an order already in progress.

If new account details arrive by email, verify them by phone with a number you already hold for that company, not a number supplied in the same email. Call the technical or purchasing superintendent who normally signs off your orders.

• Is the account in the same legal name as the contracting entity?
• Is the bank in the same country as the buyer's registered office?
• Did the request arrive under time pressure, or just before a weekend or public holiday?

Panama offers a reminder of how quickly corporate and vessel records move. The Panama Maritime Authority restricted three tankers in its system and began cancelling their registrations after US sanctions over Iranian oil, according to Marine Insight. Ownership and registration data changes; payment instructions should not change without a call.

Check 3: Charterer authority (who can actually order)

Ask who has authority to commit the vessel to your order. On a voyage charter, the charterer or their agent typically controls port costs and husbandry. On a time charter, the owner or technical manager usually controls stores, spares and repairs.

Getting this wrong is expensive in both directions. You can deliver against an order nobody was authorised to place, or lose a genuine order by insisting on the wrong signatory.

Charterparty structure matters more when routing is constrained. The Maritime Executive noted in October 2026 that charterparty details have become central since military operations in Iran began in February 2026 and chokepoint risk dominated routing decisions.

Practical steps:

1. Identify the DOC holder and the technical manager from the registry and AIS-linked company data.
2. Confirm whether the sender is the owner, the technical manager, the charterer or a port agent acting for one of them.
3. Match the sender's domain to the company, not to a free mail service.
4. Ask for the purchase order reference or the agent's PDA reference before quoting.

Check 4: PDA consistency

A proforma disbursement account should reconcile with the enquiry. Quantities, port dues, agency fees and service lines should be internally consistent.

Compare the enquiry against the PDA line by line. A request for 40 tonnes of fresh water on a vessel that ordered 120 tonnes in the same port last call is worth a question.

Watch for mismatches between the stated port call and the vessel's actual schedule. Red Sea and Suez routing remains unsettled, with Asia-Europe services still transiting despite the security situation, as The Loadstar reported in October 2026. Voyage plans change; a fake enquiry often quotes a port the vessel is not calling at all.

Check 5: Sanctions and ownership screening

Screen the vessel, the IMO number, the registered owner, the technical manager and the sender's company before you quote. Sanctions exposure travels with the counterparty, not with the size of the order.

The EU sanctioned major Russian shipyards in October 2026, including submarine builders, naval repair facilities and yards involved in commercial vessel construction, as reported by gCaptain. Registries and ownership chains move in step with those measures.

Use the IMO number as the primary key across AIS, registry and sanctions lists. If a name returns nothing but the IMO number returns a different owner, stop and resolve the difference before quoting.

The five-row verification block

Keep this table next to your quoting workflow. It is the short version of everything above.

• Vessel identity: IMO number, name, flag and type match across AIS, registry and enquiry. ETA consistent with position.
• Bank detail change: any change of beneficiary account triggers a callback to a number you already hold.
• Charterer authority: sender's role, company and domain confirmed against charterparty structure and DOC holder.
• PDA consistency: quantities, port dues and service lines reconcile with the enquiry and the vessel's actual schedule.
• Sanctions screening: vessel, owner, manager and sender screened by IMO number before the quote goes out.

Red flags worth stopping for

• Bank details changed mid-order, especially by email only.
• Urgency that discourages a verification call.
• Sender domain that does not match the company named in the enquiry.
• Vessel name correct but IMO number absent, wrong or belonging to another ship.
• PDA figures that do not reconcile with the quantities requested.
• New counterparty with a large first order and a request for credit terms.

How VesselReach helps

Verification is easier when the vessel and the company behind it are already in front of you.

• Vessel intelligence: VesselReach shows vessels near your selected ports and scheduled or expected arrivals, which means you can check a quoted ETA against the actual movement before you reply.
• AI company targeting: the platform identifies the relevant company behind each vessel, so you know whether the sender is the owner, technical manager, operator or charterer.
• Decision-maker discovery: operations, procurement, marine superintendents, chartering and C-suite contacts are found by role, so a verification call reaches someone who can actually confirm the order.

Book a VesselReach demo to see how vessel arrivals, company targeting and decision-maker contacts sit in one workflow.