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Developments:
When a ship arrives in the port of Iskenderun in southern Turkey, its agents pay a $50 bribe to customs officials to process their docking papers quickly. If you don't pay the bribe, your ship can be stuck in the port for days.
According to a young shipping agent I talked to, if anyone reported the practice to the police their future in the tight-knit world of the shipping industry would be bleak. Customs officials receive pitifully low salaries so rich agents don't mind stumping up the $50 "fee".
"Wouldn't they still want bribes if they had higher salaries?", I asked. "They would," he replied, "but agents would be much less sympathetic."
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