Pariah Containership Banned from Australian Ports
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) informs that it has issued a direction to the container ship 'Vega Auriga' (IMO 9347786) that prohibits the ship from using or entering any Australian ports due to repeated breaches relating to seafarer welfare and maintenance of the ship. The Vega Auriga has been detained by AMSA on three occasions since 25 July 2013 with repeated concerns for the welfare of the crew including improper payment of wages, inadequate living and working conditions and inadequate maintenance resulting in an unseaworthy and substandard vessel. General Manager of AMSA’s Ship Safety Division, Allan Schwartz said vessels entering Australian ports must ensure they meet minimum international standards.
Ship Detained for Inadequate Voyage Planning
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal last week affirmed the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) detention of a Liberian flagged vessel SCF Yenisei, in Queensland in October 2013. The manager of the vessel sought to have the detention of the vessel downgraded at the tribunal, alleging the deficiency identified by an AMSA port marine surveyor was not serious enough to warrant detention. AMSA Ship Safety Division General Manager Allan Schwartz said the tribunal decision had affirmed AMSA’s decision to detain the vessel, which had sailed to Mackay via Hydrographers Passage from Kawasaki without the appropriate navigational charts.
