The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:
(PORTLAND, Ore.) — The Coast Guard detained the 738-foot motor vessel Kind Seas after significant safety violations were found during an inspection in Kalama, Wash., on Friday.
Vessel inspectors from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Portland discovered the discrepancies during a routine inspection of the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, which was built in 1998.
Safety violations were related to a complete failure of the emergency generator, which provides power to emergency equipment including the emergency firefighting pump system. Other discrepancies include deficient structural fire boundary doors designed to prevent the spread of a fire, inoperable bilge pumps critical to removing excess water and waste oil accumulation in engine compartments, and inoperable lifesaving communication equipment.
“Shipboard fires pose severe risk to vessel crews, the vessel, and the port,” said Capt. Patrick Ropp, commanding officer and officer in charge of marine inspection at MSU Portland. “The deficiencies were determined to pose significant risk to the vessel’s crew and the marine environment indicating that the vessel is unfit to proceed to sea.”
Coast Guard vessel inspectors are working with the Kind Seas’ flag state and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, the vessel’s classification society responsible for certificating vessel construction and engineering, and the vessel’s crew, owner, and managing company to make essential repairs.
The Kind Seas, owned by Fairplay Maritime Ltd., is a bulk carrier, which loaded corn and wheat in Kalama and will depart for Japan after the safety violations have been corrected.
