France has banned a Chinese bulk carrier that failed to get a number of deficiencies fixed in its home country.
The 76,000-dwt panamax Xin Feng (built 2005) has been refused access to the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control region.
The Paris MOU said the ship was detained in Nantes on 6 January after safety inspectors found seven deficiencies.
All were grounds for detention and included invalid certificates for construction safety, load lines and safety equipment.
Life-saving equipment was not properly maintained and two unspecified faults were identified with structural condition.
This was its first ever detention. The vessel was released but failed to call at the repair yard in China as agreed.
AIS data shows the bulker left Vlissingen in the Netherlands on 23 January bound for Zhoushan in China, with an arrival date of 20 March.
But the last update was from 13 February with the vessel in the Bay of Biscay.
The Liberia-flagged ship is classed by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai in Japan.
The operator is listed as South Ocean Marine Group of Fujian. The company could not be contacted for comment.
Cargo ship banned after three strikes
The Paris MOU also said the 3,000-dwt general cargo ship NS Sprinter (built 1992) has been banned for three months after failing three checks in two years.
The Belize-flagged vessel was held in Licata, Italy, for five days in February with 13 deficiencies.
Inspectors found expired life boats in a broken container, problems with fire-fighting equipment, improperly maintained sanitary facilities and damaged catwalk railings.
The NS Sprinter was also detained in Italy and Spain last year.
Oslo Shipholding of Tirana, Albania, is listed as the operator.
