MERATUS SANGATTA

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Vessel banned from Australian waters

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has issued a direction to the "Meratus Sangatta" not to enter or use any port in Australia for three months. The ship has been detained three times since November 2012 and twice since November 2014. As a result it will not be allowed to re - enter Australian ports until April 6, 2015. The "Meratus Sangatta" was detained in Port Alma, Queensland on Jan 2 despite AMSA urging the ship’s operator, the PT Meratus Line, to improve its performance following the banning of another of its vessels, the "Territory Trader", in Cairns in November 2014. The recent detention found numerous failings in compliance with the MLC, which place the welfare of seafarers at risk. The more serious of these deficiencies included not having enough food and potable water for the next voyage, defective and insufficient refrigerated storage to saf ely store fresh food, defective laundry, sanitary and cooking facilities, as well as expired Seafar er Employment Agreements (SEA). The Meratus Line would now be subject to inspections at every port call. The vessel was required to rectify deficiencies identified during the inspection before it was released from detention from Port Alma. The vessel is the third to be banned from Australian ports under the revised Navigation Act which came into effect in July 2013.