Reviews & Ratings for the Nitaya-Naree

On November 15, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced significant fines totaling $81,474 against two ships, the 'MSC Aurora' and the 'Western Durban', due to violations of the Vessel General Permit (VGP) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in California and Louisiana. The fines stem from inspection, monitoring, and reporting deficiencies identified during EPA's enforcement efforts. The 'MSC Aurora', operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company, SRL, was found to have neglected conducting the mandated routine visual inspections for 11 voyages between November 2016 and July 2021 while docking at the Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland. Furthermore, the vessel failed to submit timely annual reports for the years 2016 to 2019. As a result, the company has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $66,474 as part of the settlement. In a separate incident, the 'Western Durban', managed by Tokyo-based Victoria Ship Management, encountered violations in August 2017 when it failed to follow essential monthly functionality checks and perform an annual calibration of the ballast water treatment system prior to discharging ballast water at the Port of New Orleans. In addition, the ship did not complete the necessary biological monitoring post-discharge. Consequently, the EPA slapped a $15,000 penalty on the company. These violations came to light during a collaborative visual inspection carried out by the EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard in February 2020 at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. The settlement with MSC regarding the 'MSC Aurora' addresses the CWA infractions and is pending a 30-day public comment period before it can be finalized. By contrast, the public comment period for the 'Western Durban' has already concluded.