ZETA I (IMO 9539676) detained at Curaçao, September 2026
Panama-flagged oil products tanker ZETA I has been detained at Curaçao on 22 September 2026 with three deficiencies, marking the vessel's first detention in a PSC record that spans eight years of inspections. The detention comes just six months after inspectors at the same port logged seven deficiencies without detaining the ship, and against the backdrop of a Bureau Veritas classification that was reinstated in late 2024 after an apparent lapse.
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ZETA I was detained at Curaçao on 22 September 2026 following a port state control inspection that recorded three deficiencies. The vessel's recognised organisation is Bureau Veritas. The specific deficiency codes have not been published, and no ISM company is listed in the detention notice. Although three deficiencies is a modest count, the fact that inspectors chose to detain the vessel indicates at least one finding was serious enough to be considered a clear ground for detention, or that the cumulative picture warranted it. Curaçao is a port ZETA I knows well; all five prior PSC inspections on record took place at either Curaçao or nearby Bonaire.
The vessel
ZETA I is a small oil products tanker built in 2009 at Chengzhou Shipbuilding Industry in Linhai, China. At 4,048 GT and 6,450 DWT, with a length overall of 103 metres and a beam of 16 metres, she is a handy-sized coastal and short-sea tanker. She is powered by a four-stroke diesel engine (model 6N330-EN). The vessel has flown the Panamanian flag since delivery and has never changed her name. She is classed with Bureau Veritas, an IACS member society, though the classification record carries a notable entry: class was listed as "Reinstated" as of 19 October 2024. That suggests a period during which class was suspended or withdrawn, a red flag for any charterer conducting due diligence on a tanker carrying oil products in the Caribbean.
Inspection history
The PSC record for ZETA I comprises five inspections between October 2018 and March 2026, all conducted under the Caribbean MoU, at either Bonaire or Curaçao. Prior to the current detention, the vessel had never been detained. However, the deficiency record is persistently elevated: 34 deficiencies across five inspections yields an average of 6.8 per inspection, a figure that maxes out the VesselScore's deficiency-rate component. The most recent inspection, at Curaçao on 25 March 2026, logged seven deficiencies spanning structural conditions (beam, frame, and floor corrosion), fire safety, life-saving appliances, labour conditions, and weathertight integrity. That profile closely echoes findings from July 2023 at Bonaire, where inspectors flagged deck corrosion, deck construction issues, and an ISM deficiency alongside fire protection concerns. Structural and weathertight issues appear in at least three of the five inspections, pointing to a recurring maintenance shortfall in hull and deck upkeep. The April 2022 inspection at Otrabanda Wharfs in Curaçao, classified as a "more detailed inspection," yielded eight deficiencies, the highest single count in the record, though detailed categories were not recorded. The October 2018 inspection at Bonaire, also a more detailed inspection, returned seven deficiencies including problems with the oil record book, the SMC certificate, rescue boat launching arrangements, and ECDIS. The pattern is clear: ZETA I has consistently presented with a high deficiency count at every inspection, across multiple categories. That no detention occurred until now may reflect the Caribbean MoU's enforcement thresholds, but the accumulation of structural and safety findings made a detention foreseeable.
Ownership and management
The vessel is registered to International Maritime Group, which has been the registered owner since the ship's delivery in August 2009. Ship management and commercial management sit with Integrated Marine Services LLC, based in Doral, Florida. The ISM manager is Support Marine Group CA, registered at the same Doral address. Both the ISM manager and the current registered owner entry date to August 2016, which corresponds with a management transition away from the vessel's earlier operator. The company history reveals three distinct management eras. From delivery in 2009 until early 2011, Bernhard Schulte (Cyprus) served as both ship manager and ISM manager. Avila Marítima SM CA then took over both roles from April 2011. In August 2016, management shifted again to Support Marine Group CA for ISM and ship management, with Integrated Marine Services later assuming the ship manager/commercial manager role (the exact transition date is not recorded). The ownership chain also shows Venezuela Transportes as a prior registered owner, though no date is given. The Venezuelan connection, combined with the Miami/Doral management cluster, is consistent with a vessel trading in the Caribbean oil products market. Management has been stable since 2016, so the current detention cannot be attributed to recent operational disruption or handover issues.
Risk profile
VesselScore rates ZETA I at 68.2 out of 100, placing her in an "average risk" calibration band with a modelled detention probability of 3.12%. The score is heavily driven by two components. The deficiency-rate component (c1) scores a full 15 out of 15 penalty points, reflecting the persistent high deficiency count across inspections. The severity-mix component (c3) also maxes out at 10 out of 10, indicating that the types of deficiencies found are not trivial but span serious safety categories. The age baseline (c6) contributes 6.8 points out of 10, reflecting the vessel's 17-year age. On the positive side, the vessel carries zero detention-history penalty (c2) because she had never previously been detained, and no manager-churn penalty (c4), consistent with the stable post-2016 management. Flag and class risk (c5) scores zero penalty. Sanctions screening (c10) and casualty history (c11) are both clean. The reinstated classification status, while not explicitly captured in the scoring model, is an additional concern that a charterer should weigh independently. A vessel whose class lapsed and was reinstated in October 2024, then detained in September 2026, warrants scrutiny of what occurred during the class interruption.
What to watch
The immediate question is when ZETA I will be released and what conditions the Curaçao authority will impose. Given the vessel's history of structural and weathertight deficiencies, charterers should request the full detention report and verify that all outstanding items from both the September 2026 detention and the March 2026 inspection have been rectified. The Bureau Veritas class reinstatement from October 2024 merits direct inquiry: what triggered the suspension or withdrawal, how long the vessel was out of class, and whether special survey or condition-of-class items remain outstanding. Any charterer considering this vessel for oil products trades should note that her VesselScore detention probability will increase materially once this detention is incorporated, and that the deficiency trend shows no signs of improving. Re-inspection at the next Caribbean port call is virtually certain.
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