The Panama-flagged cargo ship Lowlands Kamsar was detained in Seattle on Monday (Jan 4), after a United States Coast Guard port state control inspection detected several safety violations.
During the inspection, the officials found that the automatic fire extinguishing system that protects the vessel’s engine room had been disabled by the crew.
Furthermore, the owner of the 82,206 dwt Lowlands Kamsar, Tokyo-based vessel manager Misuga S.A., failed to ensure that appropriate corrective action was taken, the USCG said.
“The Port State Control program holds foreign flagged vessels to internationally agreed upon standards to ensure the safety of life at sea,” said Lt. Kimberly Glore, chief of Port State Control Branch, Sector Puget Sound.
“Fire detection and extinguishing systems are vital systems that must be ready for immediate use in case of a fire onboard the ship. We are continuing to monitor the Lowlands Kamsar and are working with the crew and Panamanian representatives to correct these deficiencies.”
The 751-foot ship will remain in Sector Puget Sound’s captain of the port zone until the violations are corrected, the USCG said.
The crew of the 2010-built ship was conducting cargo operations in Seattle at the time of the inspection.
Source: coastguardnews.com