DETAINED CARGO SHIP FAILS SAFETY INSPECTIONS

A Bahamas-owned cargo ship has been detained in Belfast after it failed a safety inspection.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said that more than 30 deficiencies were found on board the RMS Aramon before the inspection by agency surveyors had to be suspended. David Carlisle, surveyor-in-charge at the Belfast marine office, said the vessel posed a significant fire hazard with oil leaks in the engine room, generator room, bow thruster room and around the steering gear. He said: “The level of oil in the bilges was of particular concern while oil-soaked rags were left lying around and oil drums were left open.

“A problem with the firing system for the boiler meant that the boiler had to be fired using burning rags held on the end of a wire which, given the amount of oil around, was alarming”.

The ship, a small cargo vessel owned by Barrack trading company in Nassau, was carrying steel to Belfast and had six crew members on board. Other defects found unusable emergency escapes and no record of lifeboat drills having taken place and no sign of the man overboard boat having been launched - as it would during the drills. An inspection in the Bahamas in January had also identified many defects. The examination in Belfast was suspended until the Flag State and Classification Society could confirm compliance with international standards, said an agency spokesman. (AMcE)