The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) issued a refusal of access direction notice the Liberian-flagged container ship MSC Kymea II from Australian ports for 90 days.
In particular, AMSA issued the notice following months of sub-standard performance from the ship’s operator, MSC Shipmanagement Ltd, including critical maintenance issues.
Moreover, AMSA has detained nine MSC ships over the past two years, including five vessels in 2023 with many of these detentions showing systemic sub-standard maintenance practices onboard.
MSC Kymea II was found with 21 deficiencies in total, including a defective free fall lifeboat steering system, defective fire safety systems, dangerously-stored flammable materials, and multiple wasted or missing railing safety chains used to prevent stevedores from falling from heights when lashing cargo.
Furthermore, another MSC vessel inspected two weeks ago was found with a corroded fuel-oil tank air pipe, and the evidence suggests that the ship attempted to hide the seriousness of the defect from authorities by covering up the rusted pipe with canvas and painting over it.
AMSA executive director of operations, Michael Drake said that the agency’s inspection regime has shown that MSC has failed to meet its obligations to properly maintain its vessels.
“AMSA has zero-tolerance for sub-standard ships operating in Australian waters and we will not hesitate to ban vessels that fail to meet basic safety standards,” he pointed out.
