OMARI (IMO 9242546) detained at Rizhao, October 2026
The 25-year-old Palau-flagged bulk carrier OMARI has been detained at Rizhao, China, marking its fourth detention in less than two years and its second in Chinese waters in 2026 alone. The vessel's inspection record deteriorated sharply after a late-2019 ownership change pulled it out of a reputable Hong Kong manager's hands and into a succession of Vietnamese operators, and the current detention confirms a trajectory that any charterer vetting the ship should have seen coming.
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OMARI was detained at Rizhao, China, on 5 October 2026. The detention record lists Korean Register (KR) as the recognised organisation and Ocean Express Shipping Co Ltd as the ISM company. Specific deficiency codes and counts have not yet been published. The vessel's AIS destination at the time of reporting was Singapore, with an ETA of 15 October; it is unclear whether she will be permitted to sail on schedule.
The vessel
OMARI is a 17,433 GT, 28,460 DWT geared bulk carrier built in 2001 by Kanda Shipbuilding in Hiroshima, Japan. She measures 170 metres LOA by 27 metres beam and is powered by a two-stroke Mitsubishi 5UEC52LA diesel engine. The vessel is equipped with four 30-tonne cranes. She is classed with Korean Register, which has held the classification since November 2020, taking over from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), which had classed her since January 2006. She currently flies the Palau flag, a switch made as recently as 1 July 2026; before that she was registered in Panama from December 2019, and prior to that in Hong Kong. Palau is not a Paris MoU white-list flag. The vessel has traded under three names: Hawke Bay (original), Golden Key (from December 2019), and OMARI (from October 2022).
Inspection history
The vessel's PSC record spans 25 years and 98 inspections across six MoU regimes, producing 165 recorded deficiencies and three detentions before the current Rizhao event. The record divides into two starkly different eras. From her delivery in 2001 through late 2019, under Pacific Basin Shipping (HK) Ltd management, OMARI (then Hawke Bay) compiled a near-spotless record: roughly 60 inspections with zero detentions, mostly clean or low-deficiency results across Tokyo MoU, Indian Ocean MoU, USCG, and Paris MoU ports. The one notable blemish was an expanded inspection at Tyne, UK, in January 2015 that logged 18 deficiencies but did not result in detention. The picture changed dramatically after the vessel passed to Vietnamese interests in late 2019. Between October 2024 and October 2026, she has accumulated four detentions. The first came at Singapore on 16 October 2024 with 16 deficiencies. The second was at Shanghai on 22 January 2025 with four deficiencies. The third was at Zhuhai on 12 June 2026 with nine deficiencies. The Rizhao detention on 5 October 2026 is the fourth. All three prior detentions required follow-up inspections before the vessel was released. The frequency of inspections has also increased markedly. In 2025 alone the vessel was inspected 12 times, with deficiency counts of 4, 4, 10, 6, 8, 6, 5, and 3 at initial inspections. Several of these were in Chinese ports, where inspectors appear to have been watching the vessel closely. The deficiency rate across the full record stands at 1.7 deficiencies per inspection, but this average is flattened by nearly two decades of clean results under Pacific Basin; the recent rate is substantially higher.
Ownership and management
OMARI's ownership and management history is marked by stability in her first 15 years and rapid churn in her second decade. Pacific Basin Shipping (HK) Ltd managed the vessel as both ISM and commercial manager from 2004/2005 until late 2019. The registered owner during that period was Judith Shipping BVI Ltd. In November 2019, OPEC Petrol Transportation Co took over as registered owner, ship manager, and commercial manager; Nhat Viet Transportation Corp was named ISM manager. Within months, the ISM role passed to FGAS Petrol JSC (March 2020), then to ASP Shipping Co Ltd (January 2022). Ha Trang Petrol Transportation became the registered owner in October 2022, with ASP Shipping continuing as ship and ISM manager. In November 2024, Ocean Express Shipping Co Ltd, a Hanoi-based company with a fleet of 25 vessels, took over as ship manager, commercial manager, and ISM manager. The company lists a Gmail address as its primary email contact. The first detention under Ocean Express management came just two months after the handover, at Singapore in October 2024. Three more detentions have followed in the eleven months since. In total, the vessel has had five different ISM managers since late 2019. The registered owner, Ha Trang Petrol Transportation, also based in Hanoi, operates a fleet of six vessels.
Risk profile
VesselScore rates OMARI at 41.7 out of 100, placing her in the "very high risk" calibration band with a modelled detention probability of 15.6%. Three components are at their maximum penalty. The deficiency rate score (C1) is maxed at 15 out of 15 points, reflecting the sustained high deficiency counts across recent inspections. The detention history component (C2) is maxed at 20 out of 20, driven by the three recorded detentions in the scoring window. The age baseline (C6) is maxed at 10 out of 10; at 25 years old, the vessel is well past the age at which structural and mechanical deficiencies become statistically more frequent for bulk carriers. Manager churn (C4) contributes 5 out of a possible 15 points, reflecting the multiple management changes since 2019. The flag and class component (C5) adds 2 out of 10, consistent with the recent switch to Palau. AIS behaviour (C9) scores 3 out of 5, with three loitering events detected and no AIS gaps. The vessel is clear on sanctions (C10) and has no recorded casualties (C11). Fuel efficiency and hull condition data are unavailable as the vessel does not report under the EU MRV regime.
What to watch
The vessel must first clear a follow-up inspection at Rizhao before she can sail. Given the pattern of prior detentions, charterers and underwriters should monitor whether this inspection requires multiple attempts, as occurred after previous detentions at Singapore and Zhuhai. The Palau flag registration is only three months old; Palau's standing on Tokyo MoU targeting matrices could subject OMARI to heightened inspection priority at every subsequent port call in the Asia-Pacific region. With four detentions in under two years, the vessel is firmly in the category of ships that will draw automatic scrutiny from any competent PSC regime. Charterers should factor in the near-certainty of delay at loading or discharge ports. The classification status with Korean Register should be confirmed directly; the record shows a "Delivered" status dating from November 2020, and any lapse would compound the risk profile further.
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