Las Palmas Maritime Authority stops departure
The Maritime Captaincy of Las Palmas has halted the departure of the cargo vessel Marietje Deborah, flying a Dutch flag, after detecting that its captain was exceeding legal alcohol limits just before beginning manoeuvres to leave the port area. The Maritime Administration of Spain has urgently opened a disciplinary proceedings file and requires the shipowner to deposit €50,000 in financial surety as a mandatory condition before authorising any sailing permission.
Alert triggers control operation
The control operation was launched following a confidential alert issued by Spain’s counterpart, the Maritime Administration of the Netherlands. Dutch authorities sent an urgent electronic communication warning of the possible drunken condition of a crew member on board. The international warning led the Las Palmas maritime captain, Ignacio Gallego, to immediately order a ban on the vessel’s departure, which was already ready to begin navigation from the docks of the Gran Canaria capital.
Inspection and full immobilisation at the pier
Agents of the Guardia Civil gained access to the ship’s structure in collaboration with maritime inspectors to carry out breathalyser tests on the entire crew. The analysis results confirmed that the vessel’s captain breached the maximum rate permitted under both Spanish legislation and the current international conventions, set strictly at 0.25 milligrams per litre (mg/l). The confirmation of the positive result prompted an immediate order to hold the cargo ship in port while a deep technical audit is carried out. Inspectors from the state maritime administration have started an extraordinary oversight process under the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), a port state control protocol designed to verify that foreign vessels comply with international rules on safety, habitability and structural condition, in the event that concurrent deficiencies exist in onboard safety management.
The resolution from the Maritime Captaincy states that the vessel will remain immobilised at the Las Palmas port facilities until the shipowning company formalises payment of the €50,000 bail linked to the sanctioning process. It also provides that the Directorate General for Merchant Marine will require all crew members to undergo and pass a new breathalyser test with a negative result before issuing the final customs clearance papers to resume its commercial route across the Atlantic.
The entry €50,000 bail demanded from Dutch shipowner after captain was drunk in Las Palmas port was published first on encanarymaritime.com.
