Unseaworthy vessel detained in Yamba

AMSA inspectors boarded the Australian-flagged Tomin in the Port of Yamba, New South Wales, on Monday and detained the vessel because AMSA suspected the vessel to be unseaworthy, substandard and a threat to the marine environment.

AMSA said it considered the grounds for suspicion to be reasonable. Those grounds included information suggesting the vessel undertook a voyage to Australia from the Solomon Islands without the required certification. With support from New South Wales Police, the owners of the vessel were arrested on board and have been charged with offences under the Navigation Act.

Section 135 of the Commonwealth Navigation Act provides that it is an offence for an owner to take a vessel to sea, or cause or permit another person to take the vessel to sea, unless the vessel has been certified to comply with applicable provisions of MARPOL. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment or a fine of AU$126,000 or both.

AMSA inspectors found what appeared to be structural leaks and oily waste inside the vessel.


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