Cyrus Sea Lines says it acted in a prudent manner by reporting the engine problems that ultimately led to Australian authorities banning one of its bulk carriers for a 12-month period.
Last Wednesday the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) placed a 12-month ban on the 91,800-dwt bulk carrier KMAX Leader (built 2010), claiming it was issued due to serious safety violations and a lack of willingness to communicate on the part of the vessel’s owner.
The ship, which is owned by Philippines-registered single ship company Porto Mare and operated by Cyprus Sea Lines, first experienced mechanical issues while in the vicinity of the Australian port of Gladstone on 26 October 2023.
The KMAX Leader reported unidentified engine room vibrations.
The bulker operator said this was caused by the ship’s propeller and tail shaft getting caught in a fishing net as the vessel was approaching Australia. The encounter affected the aft seal of the propeller shaft.
“Owners prudently reported incident and stopped in Australia to inspect the vessel,” Cyprus Sea Lines said in an email sent to TradeWinds on Monday.
The company said that repairs conducted by a local workshop in Gladstone “could not be considered permanent”.
AMSA's main complaint against the vessel was that its owners did not keep them adequately informed about the progress of the repairs.
The regulator complained that the ship did not comply with multiple notices that were issued requiring the ship’s classification society, which Equasis lists as Lloyds Register, to conduct a damage survey and report on repair work, and claimed the owners “repeatedly failed to engage with AMSA about the situation”.
Cyprus Sea Lines said that problems with communications were encountered because of the time difference between Australia and Europe.
The KMAX Leader was finally towed out of Gladstone on 4 February and is currently heading to a shipyard in Asia that Cyprus Sea Lines says is capable of carrying out permanent repairs.
While AMSA used the ban as an opportunity to stress how it is cracking down on substandard shipping, Cyprus Sea Lines hardly fits the description of a substandard operator with substandard ships.
The Equasis database shows that ships in the company’s fleet has generally received a clean bill of health in port state control inspections, with only minor deficiencies occasionally reported.
AMSA issued total of 20 bans against ships between July 2020 and December 2023, some of which were owned and operated by well-known and reputable shipowners and managers.
Bans can be appealed via the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of Australia.
