An ageing general cargo ship has been barred from European ports for 12 months after running afoul of port state inspectors once again.
The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU) said the 3,000-dwt NS Sprinter (built 1999) has been banned following a detention in the Italian port of Augusta in September.
This was its third detention in the Paris MoU region within the last two years, and comes after a three-month ban imposed in March after the ship had been detained three times in the preceding three years.
The ship flies the flag of Belize, which is grey on the current Paris MOU WGB list.
The NS Sprinter spent nine days under detention in Augusta with 15 deficiencies.
Grounds for detention included inoperative alarms, missing seafarer and manning certificates, problems with fire safety doors and fire protection systems, and missing lifejackets.
Bilge pumping equipment was not working and hatchways were not properly maintained.
The NS Sprinter was also detained in Italy and Spain last year.
Oslo Shipholding of Tirana, Albania, is listed as the operator. The company could not be contacted.
Turkish vessel barred
The Paris MOU also banned the 4,900-dwt Forester (built 1990) for three months.
The cargo vessel was held in Chioggia, Italy, in October — its third detention in the last two years.
The Forester spent eight days at the port with 17 deficiencies.
Grounds for detention included an inoperative emergency generator and problems with fire doors, firefighting equipment and means of escape.
The ship is listed as operated by Lider Ship Management of Turkey.
