Bulk carrier ban leads to thousands of dollars in fines for Australian shipowner

Universal Shipping Alliance, owner of a Liberian-flagged ship banned from Australian waters, has been fined AUD 63,000 (around $40,200) for failing to comply with a safety directive from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

As explained, in October 2023, the shipping player’s KMAX Leader, a 2010-built bulk carrier, experienced mechanical issues, having reported “unidentified” engine room vibrations, upon entering the Port of Gladstone, Australia.

According to AMSA, two days later, the vessel’s Australian agent, i.e. Universal Shipping Alliance, said repair work to fix the unit’s propulsion had started and that it would take around 8-10 days to complete. The repairs were not wrapped up during this period.

Disabled in the Port of Gladstone during an approaching cyclone season, KMAX Leader represented a major risk to safety within the port. It is understood that, during this timeframe, two cyclones, Jasper and Kirrily, had been rolling toward the Queensland coast.

Because of this, AMSA had issued a written order requiring a towage and fault rectification plan, but neither the vessel’s captain nor its Australian agent responded to ‘repeated’ requests.

As a result, in February 2024, the Australian maritime authority issued a ‘refusal of access’ directive, banning the vessel—which was eventually towed to an overseas port—from its waters for six months. Following this, the shipowner was scheduled to appear before a judge, with the Gladstone Magistrates Court finally concluding that the actions by the shipowner warranted a fine for not just posing safety risks but also defying orders.

“In this case, with a cyclone bearing down on the port, the consequences of not engaging a towage vessel to move the vessel out of the port, could have been catastrophic,” AMSA Executive Director Operations Michael Drake commented.

He further underscored AMSA’s commitment to safety and compliance, adding: “We will not compromise on the safety of vessels and crew or any potential threat to the community or environment.”

During the 2023-2024 period, AMSA highlighted that it had issued as many as 57 directions to ships and operators concerning safety breaches, mechanical deficiencies and maritime labor.

These include the Hong Kong-flagged liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Cesi Qingdao, which was detained in Gladstone in November 2023 after experiencing a blackout that caused ‘significant’ disruptions at the port, the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier MSXT Emily, banned in the summer of 2023 for ‘disgraceful’ treatment of seafarers, and the Liberian-flagged container ship MSC Kymea II which was barred from Australian waters for 90 days in February of that same year after months of sub-standard performance from the ship’s operator, MSC Shipmanagement Ltd (MSC).

Moreover, in 2024, for instance, AMSA also barred the 2011-built cargo ship Marsgracht for ‘improper’ stowage of class 1 explosives as well as the Cypriot-flagged bulk carrier Peace and the India-flagged cement carrier Darya Shaan for ineffective maintenance that rendered the vessels ‘unseaworthy’.