Spliethoff targeted by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has banned the Netherlands-flagged general cargo ship Marsgracht from entering Australian ports for 180 days following two incidents this year where the vessel was found to have wrongly stowed dangerous goods contrary to the International Maritime Organization’s International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.

“This recurrence highlights systemic failures in the ship’s safety management system and a serious lack of effective remedial action,” AMSA stated in a release, pointing out that this is the fourth Spliethoff vessel to have failed to store dangerous goods properly while calling in Australia since July 2022.

“When it comes to loading dangerous cargo, there is no scope for non-compliance. There is no excuse for disregarding these standards,” said AMSA executive director of operations Michael Drake.