SVR VENUS (IMO 9130212) detained at Bourgas, October 2026
The 29-year-old general cargo ship SVR Venus has been detained at Bourgas, Bulgaria, marking what the available record indicates is the vessel's first-ever detention across 57 prior port state control inspections spanning nearly three decades. The detention comes less than three months after the vessel changed hands, flags, class, and name in a wholesale corporate overhaul that moved it from a long-standing Turkish operator to a new entity in the same country.
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SVR Venus was detained at Bourgas, Bulgaria on 5 October 2026. The THETIS record does not specify the number or codes of deficiencies found. The vessel's recognised organisation at the time of detention is listed as Polski Rejestr Statkow (Polish Register of Shipping), and her ISM company is Planet Gemi Isletmeciligi AS, a Kocaeli, Turkey-based operator. At the time of detention the vessel was flagged to Antigua and Barbuda.
The vessel
SVR Venus is a 2,844 GT / 4,211 DWT general cargo ship built in 1997 at Damen Shipyard Galati, Romania. She measures 89.73 m LOA with a beam of 13.17 m, has a single hold, a single hatch, and a capacity of 221 TEU. The hull is double-bottom, continuous from peak to peak bulkhead. She has a controllable-pitch propeller and one bow thruster, with a service speed of 11 knots. She is classed by the Polish Register of Shipping since March 2025, following withdrawals from the Indian Register of Shipping (also March 2025) and DNV (November 2018). The vessel has operated under at least four names: she was built as Fehn Sky, renamed Fehn Luna in December 2015, C. Epsilon in November 2018, and SVR Venus in July 2026. She has flown at least six flags, including Germany, Gibraltar, Latvia, Barbados, Sierra Leone, and, since July 2026, Antigua and Barbuda.
Inspection history
The inspection record is unusually deep for a vessel of this size: 57 PSC inspections logged between November 1997 and April 2026, across Paris MoU (42), Mediterranean MoU (12), and Black Sea MoU (3). None of those 57 inspections resulted in detention. The cumulative deficiency count stands at 119, yielding an average of 2.1 deficiencies per inspection, a moderate figure for a vessel approaching 30 years of age. The record divides into two clear eras. Under German management (EMS Shipmanagement / Bockstiegel Reederei) through to late 2018, the vessel was inspected predominantly in Paris MoU ports across Northern and Southern Europe. Deficiency counts were consistently low, with many clean inspections. After Epsilon Denizcilik Ticaret Ltd took over ISM and ship management in November 2018, the trading pattern shifted toward the Eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea, and North Africa. Deficiency counts remained manageable through most of this period, but a more detailed inspection at Poti, Georgia in April 2021 returned 14 deficiencies, the highest single count on record. That spike did not trigger a detention. The most recent inspection before the Bourgas detention took place at Tekirdag, Turkey on 2 April 2026, just weeks before the latest ownership change. It was a more detailed inspection that recorded 10 deficiencies spanning ballast water management, IOPP certification, emergency generator, ISM-related issues, MARPOL Annex I and V items, magnetic compass, and voyage planning. That breadth of findings across safety, environmental, and operational categories is notable. While 10 deficiencies did not cross the detention threshold at Tekirdag, the spread of categories indicated systemic maintenance and documentation shortfalls rather than a single isolated issue.
Ownership and management
The vessel underwent a complete corporate changeover on 22 July 2026. Registered ownership moved from C Epsilon Shipping Corp to Planet Ship Management Inc, whose correspondence address is care of Planet Gemi Isletmeciligi AS in Izmit, Kocaeli, Turkey. ISM management and commercial management transferred from Epsilon Denizcilik Ticaret Ltd (also Turkish) to Planet Gemi Isletmeciligi AS on the same date. The ownership change coincided with a flag transfer from Sierra Leone (which the vessel had flown since March 2026, itself a change from Barbados) to Antigua and Barbuda, effective 1 July 2026. The vessel was also renamed from C. Epsilon to SVR Venus at the same time. Looking further back, Epsilon Denizcilik had managed the vessel since November 2018, when it was acquired from the German EMS Shipmanagement / Bockstiegel group. EMS had managed the ship since September 2007. The vessel has thus had three distinct management regimes in its life: German operators from delivery through 2018, Epsilon Denizcilik from 2018 to mid-2026, and Planet Gemi from July 2026 onward. The current detention occurred roughly 75 days into Planet Gemi's tenure.
Risk profile
VesselScore rates SVR Venus at 36.9 out of 100, placing her in the 'very high risk' calibration band with an observed detention probability of 11.2%. The scoring model identifies three full-scoring risk drivers. The detention component (c2) scores maximum points at 20 out of 20. This reflects the current detention event, which the model incorporated at scoring time. The severity mix component (c3) also scores the full 10 out of 10, indicating that the types of deficiencies found are weighted toward serious categories. The flag/class component (c5) scores 10 out of 10, reflecting the Antigua and Barbuda flag and the Polish Register of Shipping classification, a combination that carries elevated risk weighting. Age contributes the maximum 10 points: a 1997-built vessel is firmly in the high-age bracket. The deficiency rate component (c1) scores 11.1 out of 15, consistent with the 2.1 average deficiency rate. A marine casualty recorded in November 2002, when the vessel was named A.B. Lubeck, adds 2 points. The one notable neutral factor is manager churn (c4), which scores zero, meaning the model does not penalise the recent management change. AIS behaviour (c9) also scores zero, and the vessel shows no sanctions exposure.
What to watch
Several certificate expiry dates are pressing. Multiple statutory certificates issued by the Polish Register of Shipping, including cargo ship safety construction, cargo ship safety equipment, IOPP, load lines, IAPP, ISPP, and the ballast water management certificate, all show expiry dates of 31 August 2026, which have already passed at the time of detention. The Safety Management Certificate, Maritime Labour Certificate, and ISSC, issued by Dromon Bureau of Shipping, expire 30 September 2026, also before the detention date. The Document of Compliance issued by Dromon expired on 17 June 2026. The civil liability for oil pollution damage certificate, issued by Sierra Leone, expired 14 September 2026. Whether replacement certificates have been issued since the April 2026 snapshot is not confirmed in the data. Charterers and underwriters should monitor the release conditions closely, given the expired certificate dates visible in the record. The vessel's destination is listed as Liverpool. Any onward voyage into Paris MoU waters would place the vessel under heightened targeting, as a recently detained, nearly 30-year-old cargo ship with a new flag, new class, and new management. The combination of the Tekirdag 10-deficiency inspection in April and detention at Bourgas in October, both in the year of ownership transition, establishes a pattern that will draw further scrutiny at future port calls.
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