The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has banned a Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) containership from entering Australian ports over maintenance and safety-related deficiencies following a string of detentions involving MSC-operated ships.
AMSA issued a 90-day refusal of access direction notice on Sunday against the Liberian-flagged MSC Kymea II.
AMSA says it issued the notice following months of sub-standard performance from the ship’s operator, Cyprus-based MSC Shipmanagement Ltd, including critical maintenance issues.
Over the past two years, AMSA has detained nine MSC-operated ships, including five so far in 2023. AMSA said many of these detentions showed systemic sub-standard maintenance practices onboard.
The AMSA inspection of the MSC Kymea II found 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.