The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has banned another ship from Briese Heavylift GmbH & Co from entering Australian waters, taking the company’s total to three bans by the authority this year. 

The AMSA issued a 90-day ban on the BBC Jade general cargo vessel following an inspection that found 57t of explosive substances that had been improperly stored during transit, adding to the previous bans of the BBC Weser and BBC Pearl earlier this year. 

Evan Boyle, acting AMSA executive director of operations, said that while the breach of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code alone was a “serious maritime safety issue”, ongoing poor performance from the operator meant that a ban was needed. 

Boyle said: “Australia will not tolerate this ongoing and blatant disregard for maritime safety. We take our role as a regulator seriously and we expect operators to take their obligations seriously as well.

“I hope this ban sends the message that Australia takes the IMDG Code very seriously.” 

The ban adds to the German heavy lift operator’s troubles in Australian waters after it saw another 90-day ban in June for the BBC Weser over an inspection deeming the vessel “unsafe and unseaworthy” and a 180-day ban for the BBC Pearl after multiple failures of its safety management system. 

Additionally, the AMSA said the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged BBC Jade had also seen safety violations identified by the country’s flag state control that were in the process of being rectified. 

The operator currently has a 37% risk rating from the International Maritime Risk Rating Agency, classing it as needing urgent action to mitigate potential risks.

However, Briese isn’t the only operator to face trouble from the AMSA this year, as MSC Ship Management also saw a 90-day ban for its MSC Kymea II container ship in March over “months of sub-standard performance”.