Vanuatu has warned ship owners to be on the look out for port state control officials in Gabon who it claims continue to “harass” vessels for the smallest deficiencies and to ensure that all forms of paperwork onboard ship are in order.
Such deficiencies, it claims, include a failure to have copies of seafarer documentation applications stamped with the flag state stamp confirming receipt, a misdemeanour that can result in large fines being imposed by the country’s port state control authority, it says.
“We find this to be a ludicrous requirement that does nothing to promote safety,” the flag administration claimed.
