Universal Shipping News

In Australia, Gladstone Magistrates Court has fined Universal Shipping Alliance Ltd, owner of the bulk carrier KMAX Leader, A$63,000 ($40,000) for failing to comply with an Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) written direction and ordered them to pay court costs.KMAX Leader, a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier, entered the Port of Gladstone in October 2023 due to propulsion issues. The vessel undertook extensive work in November 2023 which failed to repair the ship’s propulsion.Concerned with the lack of an effective repair plan…

Paris MoU reports that 2015 shows a large decrease in the refusal of access (“bans”) within the region: 11 bans compared to 20 in 2014. The detention percentage has remained stable at 3.33 percent. The number of deficiencies has decreased 10 percent related to 2014. The number of inspections carried out was 17,858, slightly less than 2014 (18,430). Over a three-year period of time, most cases of refusal of access involve ships which have been banned for multiple detentions (45). Five ships have been banned a second time. A significant number (12) were banned for failing to call at an indicated repair yard. The remaining three cases involved ships which “jumped the detention”, by sailing without authorization.

At its 49th meeting last month, the Paris MoU Committee approved the 2015 inspection results and adopted new performance lists for flags and Recognized Organizations. These lists will take effect from July 1, 2016. The White, Grey and Black (WGB) List presents the full spectrum, from quality flags to flags with a poor performance that are considered high or very high risk. It is based on the total number of inspections and detentions over a three-year rolling period for flags with at least 30 inspections in the period. On the White, Grey and Black list for 2015, a total number of 73 flags are listed: 43 on the White List, 19 on the Grey List and 11 on the Black list.

Container and bulk shipping company Universal Marine and MirTac, a provider of fleet management solutions, have implemented Star Fleet Management software onboard the new bulk carriers mv Pride and mv Star II. Recently, a joint venture between Universal Shipping & Trading (part of the Universal Marine group) and NedNor, brought the relatively small bulkers mv Pride and mv StarII into service in bareboat charter to carry dry and break bulk along the coasts of the Atlantic. Universal Marine will use the Star software to link the bulkers and office seamlessly…

At its 47th meeting last month, the Paris MoU Committee approved the 2013 inspection results and adopted new performance lists for flags and Recognized Organizations. These lists will take effect from July 1, 2014. The “White, Grey and Black (WGB) List” presents the full spectrum, from quality flags to flags with a poor performance that are considered high or very high risk. It is based on the total number of inspections and detentions over a three-year rolling period for flags with at least 30 inspections in the period.