A BULK carrier already twice detained by AMSA over falsified crew records has now been banned from Australian waters for 90 days.
The Marshall Islands-flagged Wooyang Venus, 87,052 DWT and built in 2005 as Pacific Carriers’ Alam Padu, is listed by Equasis as owned since March this year by Korea Tonnage No 119 Shipping and managed by Wooyang Shipping Co Ltd, which has managed the ship since 2020. The ship is classed with the Korean Register.
During a 29 October port state control inspection in Newcastle, AMSA inspectors found crew work and rest records had been deliberately falsified to mask excessive hours worked.
This followed a Maritime Labour Convention 2006 complaint, with the inspection finding that work and rest records had been falsified and did not reflect the hours actually worked by crew onboard.
Crewing and fatigue is a key compliance priority for AMSA, as outlined in the AMSA National Compliance Plan 2026-27.
The authority said Wooyang Venus had been detained on two previous occasions, with falsified work and rest records contributing to both detentions. In August 2026, AMSA found work and rest hours were not being recorded and monitored correctly. In December 2023, it identified evidence of incorrect work and rest records.
Under the MLC, vessel owners and operators must meet minimum standards for seafarers’ living and working conditions, including requirements relating to hours of work and rest. Accurate records are essential to demonstrate minimum rest requirements are being met and fatigue is being effectively managed, AMSA points out.
Greg Witherall, AMSA executive director maritime safety and environmental compliance, said deliberately falsifying records designed to protect seafarers was unacceptable and presented a significant risk to the safety of crew onboard and protection of Australia’s precious marine environments.
"Evidence has shown poor fatigue management can impair judgement, reduce alertness and slow reaction times, increasing the likelihood of errors during navigation, watchkeeping and other critical tasks. The consequences can include collisions, groundings and serious injuries, putting lives and the marine environment in danger.
"Operators have clear obligations under the MLC. Where we find serious or repeated failures to meet those obligations, AMSA will take strong action to protect seafarers and the environment and uphold internationally agreed standards.”
AMSA issued the 90 day ban under section 246 of the Navigation Act 2012, based on the deliberate falsification, the recurrence of materially similar deficiencies and concerns about the effectiveness of the owner and operator’s safety management arrangements.
PSC records in Equasis show Wooyang Venus has undergone 18 initial and follow-up inspections since 2020 and been detained now three times in Australia, with 11 deficiencies noted at the August 2026 review.
The Busan-based Wooyang Shipping has 13 ships in its managed fleet, including bulk carriers, ore carriers and general cargo vessels. Wooyang Venus is the second-oldest. Its next classification renewal survey is due in 2028.
It left Newcastle on 31 October, destined for Boryeong, South Korea, with coal.