The US Coast Guard on Nov. 7 detained 600-foot motor vessel Ikan
Sudip in Longview, Washington and is requiring the ship to remain moored
until significant safety violations are corrected by the crew.
The safety violations were related to extensive disrepair of
various piping systems in the machinery spaces. Coast Guard vessel inspectors
also discovered that half of the vessel’s fire hoses were deteriorated and
inoperable, greatly reducing the crew’s ability to fight shipboard fires.
The discrepancies were discovered by vessel inspectors from
the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Portland last week during a routine
safety and regulatory compliance inspection of the Panama-flagged vessel.
The purpose of the Coast Guard’s Port State Control program
is to eliminate safety hazards and environmental risks posed by foreign vessels
operating in US waters. The program is, for foreign vessels calling on US
ports, the primary means of enforcing internationally recognized standards for
safety of life at sea.
The Ikan Sudip, owned by Grace Hawk
Shipping S.A., is a 31,000-gross ton bulk carrier built in 2008 that loaded
grain in Longview and is scheduled to depart for Manila, Philippines, after the
safety violations have been corrected.
“The risks posed by the safety discrepancies rendered the
vessel substandard with respect to US and international law,” Capt. Pat Ropp,
Sector Columbia River officer in charge of marine inspection and commanding
officer of Marine Safety Unit Portland, explained. “The deficiencies were
determined to pose significant risk to the safety of the vessel, crew and port.
They collectively indicate that the vessel is unfit to proceed to sea.”
The Coast Guard says it’s working with the vessel’s crew,
owner and managing company to mitigate the safety violations and make repairs
to the vessel.
