Maritime And Coastguard Agency Of Wales Detains Ship In Cardiff

On Tuesday the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) detained a vessel in Cardiff. The Cyprus flag 20,280 GT bulk carrier Nikolaos P had berthed in Cardiff to discharge a cargo of steel rods and plywood and was boarded by surveyors from the MCA's Cardiff Marine Office, who arrived to conduct a Mandatory Expanded Inspection of the vessel as part of their regular Port State Control inspection duties. The inspection of the Nikolaos P revealed that the vessel was in very poor condition, and it was therefore detained. In total the inspection revealed in excess of 30 deficiencies, the most serious and detainable being; * Severe wasting to the starboard lifeboat forward keel bracket lifting link
* Severe wasting of the starboard lifeboat aft keel bracket lifting link plate and bolt* Severe wasting of the port lifeboat forward keel bracket Nikolaos PIn addition to the technical detainable deficiencies, three major non-conformities were raised against the vessel's ISM - Safety Management System: * Maintenance of the Ship due to the large number and serious nature of deficiencies.* Emergency Preparedness due to a substandard fire drill.* Resources and Personnel due to the crew not having carried out sufficient drills or refresher training.The Nikolaos P will remain under detention until the deficiencies are rectified. Pat Dolby, Head of the MCA's Inspection Branch said: "Operators have a duty to ensure that vessels are equipped and crews are trained to deal with a variety of emergency situations. Both the unacceptable state of the Nikolaos P's lifeboats and the inadequate response of its crew in a drill are cause for major concern, as a real-life emergency would find the vessel ill prepared for an effective response. We will not hesitate to detain vessels such as this one which pose a serious threat to the safety of its crew."