THE Australian Maritime Safety Authority detained two Panama-flagged bulkers, operated by the same company, for appalling living and working conditions onboard and for failing to carry out periodic surveys of the ships.
AMSA inspected Movers 3 at Weipa on 4 March, and also detained its sister-ship, Maryam, in February at Port Kembla for similar issues, including a lack of power onboard.
Both bulk carriers were operated by Aswan Shipping.
In April, half the crew of Maryam requested repatriation, effectively resigning from their roles.
And finally, in May, AMSA banned Movers 3 for 18 months.
And later that month the authority slapped a 36-month ban on Maryam – AMSA said this was one of the longest detentions of a foreign ship in Australian waters.
“The consequences for bringing sub-standard ships like Movers 3 and Maryam to Australia are both financially and reputationally costly,” AMSA executive director, operations Allan Schwartz said.
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