Following an investigation into an accident on board on of its ships the decision was taken by the Marine Administration of Antigua & Barbuda to withdraw the Interim ISM DOC[1] for a small UK based Ship Management Company.
This decision was taken primarily because of failures in the Safety Management System of the Company
It had failed to report an accident on board one of its vessels which resulted in the hospitalization of two of its Seafarers.
Flag state investigations into the accident revealed that the company had not fulfilled assurances made during the initial ISM and MLC[2] verifications with respect to improving the on board safety and welfare standards.
Concerns were raised by many involved in the operation of the vessel with respect to unsafe work procedures, vessel cleanliness, crew contracts, working conditions and hours of rest regulation compliance.
Company representatives failed to supply relevant information to Flag State inspectors and generally failed to co-operate with conducting a satisfactory accident investigation.
Directive 001-2014 and Circular 2014-004 have recently been published with respect to the requirements for port state control inspection defect reporting and contain reminders about other reporting requirements for Antigua and Barbuda flagged vessels.
[1] International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention Document of Compliance
[2] Maritime Labour Convention (2006)