A Russian general cargo ship has been banned for three months in Europe after spectacularly failing another port state control safety check.

The 2,800-dwt Sheksna (built 1994) was detained in Savona, Italy, in August with 32 deficiencies.

The vessel stayed at the port for 32 days before being released.

This was the Sheksna’s third detention in the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU) region within the last 24 months.

The ship flies the flag of Cameroon, which is black on the current Paris MOU list of underperforming flag states.

The Sheksna is operated by Openbridge Shipping of St Petersburg, which has been contacted for comment.

Of the faults identified, 19 constituted grounds for detention, relating to fire safety, the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), safety of navigation and vessel certificates.

Inspectors found missing, expired or invalid seafarers' employment agreements, fire safety operational booklets, bunker oil pollution damage certificate and safety manning documents.

The emergency fire pump and lighting was inoperative and there was a lack of training on board.

In addition, there was no record of calculation of payment of wages, and missing charts, inoperative radar and corroded decks.

The vessel had been detained in Riga, Latvia, in 2021 and Sligo, Ireland, in 2020.

AIS data showed the ship en route from Algeria to the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad on 24 September.

The Sheksna was due to reach the port on 8 October.