A bulker that trades in the fleet of Cyprus Sea Lines has become the latest ship banned from Australian ports as part of a crackdown on vessel safety.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority banned the 91,800-dwt KMAX Leader (built 2010) for 12 months for serious safety violations and the owner’s lack of willingness to communicate.
The KMAX Leader, which the S&P Global International Ship’s Register lists as being owned by Philippines-registered single-ship company Porto Mare, experienced mechanical issues while in the vicinity of the Port of Gladstone in Queensland on the east coast on 26 October 2023.
The kamsarmax, which is listed under “chartered vessels” on the Cyprus Sea Lines website, reported unidentified engine room vibrations.
According to AMSA, on 28 October the ship’s agent advised work had begun on the mechanical issues and would take eight to 10 days to complete.
“These repairs were not completed in this time frame,” the authority said.
“The ship was left disabled in the Port of Gladstone during cyclone season, presenting a very real risk to safety within the port. Since the ship’s arrival in Gladstone, two cyclones impacted the Queensland coast.”
AMSA said multiple notices were issued requiring the ship’s classification society — which Equasis lists as Lloyd’s Register — to conduct a damage survey and report on repair work, as well as requiring the ship to advise AMSA of towage arrangements and an updated repair plan.
“The ship did not comply with these direction notices, and the owners repeatedly failed to engage with AMSA about the situation,” it added.
The KMAX Leader was finally towed out of Gladstone on 4 February and is believed to be heading to a shipyard in Asia for repairs.
The ban against the ship was issued on 15 February.
“The lack of information forthcoming from the owners of KMAX Leader has been very disappointing,” said AMSA executive director of operations Michael Drake.
“AMSA expects all ship operators and masters to engage promptly, transparently and meaningfully. International standards exist to protect the lives of seafarers and our precious marine and coastal environments. They are not ‘optional’.”
Australia takes a tough stance against what it deems substandard vessels. Twenty ships were issued with bans ranging from three months to three years between July 2020 and December 2023.
Many of these were operated by reputable shipowners and managers.
The KMAX Leader, for example, is not what would ordinarily be considered a substandard ship. It has had a generally clean bill of health based on the results of its 33 port state control inspections since it entered service. The Equasis database shows only occasional minor deficiencies noted during these inspections.
The ship was detained only once, in the Australian port of Newcastle in 2022, over issues with fire dampers and galley ventilators, but these deficiencies were promptly rectified and it was released within a day.
Cyprus Sea Lines has been contacted for comment.
