The UAE has banned the Panamanian-flagged container ship MSC Joanna from operating in its waters and ports for one year over violation of the recently implemented fuel carriage ban.
International sources citing the UAE’s Federal Transport Authority (FTA) say the ship was carrying more than 700 MT of high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) when boarded at Jebel Ali Port, although there had been warnings to the ship to offload the non-compliant fuel before calling UAE.
As a result, the ship’s Captain was banned from working on any ship calling UAE waters or ports.
In addition, the Authority said it will enforce legal action against the Captain, over violation of “the UAE enforced legislation related to the International Maritime Instruments”.
MSC Joanna is operated by Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company, which has supported strong compliance with IMO 2020, opting for both scrubbers and compliant fuels.
Recently, major PSC regimes including Paris MoU, Tokyo MoU and Indian ocean MoU have voiced strong warnings to operators regarding the implementation of the non-compliant fuel carriage ban, that took effect from 1st March 2020 as key component of IMO 2020 regulation.
