Tag: ship detentions

Russian ship believed to be carrying helicopters and missiles for Syria A Russian ship believed to be carrying helicopters and missiles for Syria has been effectively stopped in its tracks off the coast of Scotland after its insurance was cancelled at the behest of the British government.The British marine insurer Standard Club said it had withdrawn cover from all the ships owned by Femco, a Russian cargo line, including the MV Alaed."We were made aware of the allegations that the Alaed was carrying munitions destined for Syria," the company said in a statement. "We have already informed the ship owner that their insurance cover ceased automatically in view of the nature of the voyage."British security officials confirmed they had told Standard Club that providing insurance to the shipment was likely to be a breach of European Union sanctions against the Syrian regime.They said they were continuing to monitor the ship, which has been the subject of a fierce international row since US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week revealed it was adding to the arsenal of weaponry available for Mr Assad to use against rebellious Syrian towns."We have various ways of keeping track of this ship and that is ...

FIVE people have been charged after a shipping container holding 20kg of heroine was discovered Police say the drugs, concealed inside sports bags, were smuggled from Thailand and may have been bound for Sydney or other Australian cities.Senior detectives seized the container on May 29 and arrested five alleged members of a distribution syndicate in Sydney yesterday after raiding seven properties on the city's west and southwest.During the raids police uncovered 2.6kg of the drug ice, a further 1kg of heroin and a substantial amount of cocaine and cash.A 49-year-old Belfield man and two other men, aged 55 and 52 from Mount Annan, appeared in Sydney courts today charged with conspiracy to import a commercial quantity heroin.Two men, aged 66 and 64 from Narellan Vale, also appeared in Sydney courts charged with attempting to traffic heroin.The arrests were made after a seven-month surveillance investigation involving the Australian Federal Police (AFP), NSW Police, the NSW Crime Commission and Customs.Crime Commission Commissioner Peter Singleton called it a "textbook" example of how to catch serious criminals."The Crime Commission's role was one essentially of intelligence analysis," he said in Sydney."We've managed to identify persons of interest, intercept telephones and ultimately we were able to ...

With a detention ratio of 0% The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has published its Annual Port State Control (PSC) Report and Annual Class Performance List for 2011. Germanischer Lloyd (GL) is again in the top performing group with a detention ratio of 0%. In over 1,500 distinct vessel arrivals there was no determination of class responsibility in any USCG detention of a GL classed vessel. In May the Toyko MOU's Annual Report on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region was also released. The class performance rankings list for2009-2011 once again saw GL placed among the top performing ROs, with a performance level of "high."Port State Control (PSC) is an instrument for the inspection of foreign ships in national ports to verify that the condition of the ship and its equipment complies with the requirements of international regulations and that the ship is manned and operated in compliance with these rules.To effectively develop and maintain the PSC system, coastal countries in various areas of the world have established regional agreements on Port State Control: Memoranda of Understanding or MoUs. These regional agreements now cover most of the world's oceans, with each administration having their own data base of information. ...

To ensure the continuation of a positive safety record in future The Liberian Registry has introduced a new programme to screen advance notice of ship arrivals, in an effort to ensure the continuation of a positive safety record in future, while reducing detention rates, particularly in Australia, China, the EU and the United States.Liberia's Advanced Notices of Arrival and Zone Notification schemes are designed to build on the mandatory IMO Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) system introduced in 2009, under which all flag states are required to ensure their flagged vessels transmit their location. The Flag said its objective is to be proactive by preventing a vessel detention by Port State Control or by other inspection bodies. The schemes are designed to increase awareness on the part of ship owners and operators and to ensure compliance with international requirements governing safety, security and environmental protection.All Liberian vessels calling at US, EU, Australian and Chinese ports must provide an Advanced Notice of Arrival (ANOA), which can be used by the Liberian administration to assess the probability of a PSC boarding. Thereafter, appropriate steps can be taken if necessary to prevent a detention. Under Liberia's Zone Notification programme, meanwhile, if the Liberian ...

Overall detention rate has declined gradually during the past three years The Tokyo MOU on Port State Control posted its Annual Report for 2011. The report notes that its members conducted 28,627 inspections during the year, an increase of 11% over 2010. The overall detention rate has declined gradually during the past three years.However, more attention needs to be paid by owners and operators to the areas of maintenance of ship and equipment and to development of plans for shipboard operations related to the ISM Code.For more information, click here.Source: Tokyo MOU

Due to the ship's 76-day detention at Kochi Naples-based Dolphin Tanker Srl, owners of Italian oil tanker Enrica Lexie which was involved in the killing of two Indian fishermen on February 15 off the Kerala coast, is planning to approach the court to seek compensation from the Kerala Government for the alleged losses it suffered due to the ship's 76-day detention at Kochi.The company says that it had suffered losses to the tune of several crores of rupees in terms of handling charges paid to the Kochi Port Trust, other expenses and loss of business due to the long and allegedly unnecessary detention. The company's counsel said that they would approach the court "at the earliest".The ship, which berthed at Kochi port on February 17 some 40 hours after the killing of the fishermen, was in detention till May 4, the day it left the Indian shores on the basis of a Supreme Court order after furnishing a bond for Rs 3 crore and a demand draft for equal amount, which itself was cause of a dispute.The company says that the State Government had extended the detention of the vessel unnecessarily even after all legal procedures for which it was ...

Azzurra has now been in Tripoli for over three weeks An exasperated Ender Attila, the Turkish chief officer on board the MV Azzurra, has told MaltaToday over the phone that the Tripoli harbour authorities have now halted the Maltese-chartered ferry's departure from the Libyan port, after identifying a "fault" in the vessel's bilge pump."We have been told many times... today, tomorrow and so on... but we are still here, and now they are telling me that I have to change my bilge pump," the chief officer said, after harbour officials boarded the ship this morning for the first time in three days.The Azzurra has now been in Tripoli for over three weeks, held by Libyan authorities over reports of alleged smuggling of illegal and counterfeit goods by the country's most major entrepreneur, Husni Bey."My agent here in Tripoli tells me all's ok, but I'm not seeing anything ok because we still have to wait for clearance from many departments, including security, immigration, maritime and others," Attila told MaltaToday. "All my crew is concerned about now is that we leave Libya."Libyan radio this morning broadcast news about last weekend's talks in Tripoli between foreign minister Tonio Borg and the NTC's deputy ...

After failing Port State Control (PSC) inspection The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced that 14 foreign flagged ships were under detention in UK ports during March 2012 after failing Port State Control ( PSC) inspection as follows:Latest monthly figures show that there were seven new detentions of foreign flagged ships in UK ports during March 2012 and seven vessels remained under detention from previous months. The overall rate of detentions compared with inspections carried out over the last twelve months was 2.8% this is slightly up from February's twelve month rate.Out of the detained vessels seven were registered with a flag state listed on the Paris MOU white list, four were registered with a flag state on the grey list two were registered with a flag state on the black list and one was unregistered.1.In response to one of the recommendations of Lord Donaldson's Inquiry into the prevention of pollution from merchant shipping and in compliance with the EU Directive on Port State Control (2009/16/EC as amended), the Maritime and Coastguard agency (MCA) publishes full details of the foreign flagged vessels detained in UK ports each month.2. Inspections of foreign flagged ships in UK ports are undertaken by surveyors ...

Twelve seafarers have been detained from two Turkish ships Twelve seafarers have been detained from two Turkish commercial ships that stopped at a Black Sea port in the breakaway region of Abkhazia without official Georgian approval, border guards said.The twelve Turkish citizens could face fines or prison sentences of up to five years. Abkhazia broke free from Georgian control in the 1990s, but its independence is recognized only by Russia and a handful of other countries. Under Georgian law, international vessels are required to pass customs in Georgia and get official approval to enter Abkhazia.The border guard service said April 28 that the seafarers were detained on April 26 when they arrived in the Georgian port of Poti. The service said the two ships had stopped in Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia, earlier this yearSource: Maritime Connector

Ship carrying weapons to Syria Security official said that the Lebanese navy has intercepted weapons destined for Syrian rebels on board a ship Lutfallah II originating from Libya. Military Prosecutor Judge Saqr ordered that the crew of the detained ship will be held for questioning.Saqr requested that the military police question the suspects and determine at which port the arms were loaded and to whom they were to be delivered.In a statement released Saturday, the Lebanese Army confirmed weapons on board the ship were confiscated."The Army intercepted Friday off the northern coast the Sierra Leonean-flagged commercial vessel Lutfallah II The Army and relevant authorities inspected the vessel and confiscated three containers with a large quantity of assorted arms as well as heavy, medium and light ammunition."The statement added that the 11 detained crew members were of various Arab and foreign nationalities.Al-Manar TV reported Sunday that the crew was made up of eight Syrians, two Egyptians and one Indian.Tripoli MP Samir Jisr from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's Future bloc said Sunday he was waiting for the results of the investigations before making conclusions."We are waiting for investigations and we don't want to jump the gun. People of Tripoli are neither ...