SHU GUANG (IMO 9615377) detained at Nakhodka, October 2026
The Liberian-flagged bulker SHU GUANG was detained at Nakhodka, Russia, on 5 October 2026, just two weeks after a wholesale change of ownership and management. This is the vessel's fourth PSC detention overall and her third in under twelve months, a dramatic deterioration for a ship that went the first seven years of its life without a single detention.
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SHU GUANG was detained at the port of Nakhodka, Russian Federation, on 5 October 2026. The recognised organisation is Bureau Veritas (BV) and the ISM company on record is Intercontinental Ship Management Ltd. No specific deficiency codes or deficiency count have been published at the time of writing. The detention comes just 42 days after an AMSA detention at Newcastle, Australia, and roughly eleven months after a Transport Canada detention at Quebec City. For a 13-year-old bulker, that cadence is exceptional and deeply concerning.
The vessel
SHU GUANG is a gearless Kamsarmax bulk carrier built in 2013 at Jiangsu New Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Jingjiang, China. She measures 229 metres LOA with a beam of 32.26 metres, 44,980 GT and 81,713 DWT. The main engine is a MAN B&W 6S60MC-C two-stroke diesel. She is flagged in Liberia, where she has been registered since May 2017, and classed with Bureau Veritas, her original classification society from delivery. The vessel has traded under four names: Rosco Cherry at hull stage, then Kapetan Trader I from delivery, Giacometti from May 2017, and SHU GUANG from September 2026.
Inspection history
The inspection record tells a clear story of two eras. From delivery in 2013 through to late 2016, the vessel accumulated 38 PSC inspections across six MoU regimes (Tokyo, Indian Ocean, Paris, USCG, Mediterranean, and Viña del Mar), with a total of 70 deficiencies and a low average deficiency rate of 1.8 per inspection. The first detention did not come until November 2016, at Gdynia, Poland, under the Paris MoU, when a more-detailed inspection turned up 17 deficiencies. After that, the vessel ran clean for nearly nine years: 25 inspections between early 2017 and late 2023 yielded zero detentions, with many zero-deficiency results. The record then deteriorated sharply. An expanded inspection at Quebec City by Transport Canada on 31 October 2025 found 15 deficiencies and resulted in detention. Less than ten months later, on 23 August 2026, AMSA detained the vessel at Newcastle following an initial inspection that recorded four deficiencies. A follow-up inspection on 24 August cleared the ship with zero deficiencies. Now, barely six weeks later, the vessel is detained again at Nakhodka. Three detentions in under twelve months is a stark reversal for a ship that had only one detention in the preceding decade. The timeline of this deterioration overlaps with the period leading up to, and immediately following, the September 2026 change of ownership and management.
Ownership and management
The vessel underwent a complete ownership and management change on 21 September 2026. The registered owner and ship/commercial manager is now Navaratna Shipping Ltd, registered in Monrovia, Liberia. ISM management transferred to Intercontinental Ship Management Ltd, based in Hong Kong, which operates a fleet of 13 vessels. Prior to this, the vessel had been owned by Bussola Maritime Corp-MAI and managed by Oceanbulk International SA of Greece, both in their roles since May 2017. That arrangement had been the longest stable management period in the vessel's life. Earlier in its history, the vessel passed through Thome Ship Management (Singapore), Nisshin Shipping (Japan), Victoria Ship Management (Philippines and Japan), and Rewood Ocean Shipping. Ownership likewise shifted from Ratu Shipping Co SA to Bussola Maritime Corp-MAI in 2017. The renaming to SHU GUANG, the transfer to new owners, and the ISM manager change all occurred within the same month, September 2026. The Quebec City detention in October 2025, however, predates this handover and occurred under Oceanbulk's management.
Risk profile
VesselScore rates SHU GUANG at 50.1 out of 100, placing her in the "Elevated attention" band with a modelled detention probability of 7.9%. The two largest contributors to this score are the detention history component (C2), which scores the maximum 20 out of 20 points, reflecting the recent cluster of detentions, and the deficiency rate component (C1), which also scores its maximum of 15 out of 15. These two factors alone account for 35 of the vessel's 50.1 risk points. The flag and class component (C5) adds 6 points out of 10. The age baseline (C6) contributes 5.9 points, reflecting the vessel's position at 13 years old, mid-life for a bulker. AIS behaviour (C9) adds 3 points, driven by three loitering events and zero AIS gaps. The vessel shows no sanctions exposure (C10), no casualty history (C11), and no hull condition degradation based on the most recent MRV data from 2023. Manager churn (C4) registers zero, though it is worth noting that the management change occurred on 21 September 2026 and the score was calculated on 6 October 2026; the churn signal may not yet be fully captured.
What to watch
The immediate question is the release timeline at Nakhodka and whether Russian maritime authorities will require rectification of significant structural or safety deficiencies. Once deficiency details are published, they should be cross-referenced against the Quebec City and Newcastle findings to determine whether recurring themes (fire safety, structural integrity, lifesaving equipment) indicate systemic maintenance shortfalls. Charterers should note that three detentions in twelve months will trigger enhanced targeting under both the Paris and Tokyo MoU regimes, meaning the vessel faces a high probability of expanded inspection at its next port of call in either jurisdiction. The brand-new management team at Intercontinental Ship Management, only in place since 21 September 2026, will need to demonstrate rapid remedial action. Any fixture involving this vessel should account for extended port delays and potential further holds.
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