India’s maritime regulator has revoked a document of compliance (DOC) given to PFS Shipping, the shipowning unit of debt-ridden ABG Shipyard, suspending it from operating ships.
According to India’s Directorate General of Shipping, the company’s DOC license has been revoked due to crew salary arrears and the company’s repeated violations of the ISM code on mandatory safety requirements of ships despite it receiving several warnings from the authority.
PFS Shipping is entitled to reapply for the DOC license after rectifying all the irregularities.
PFS Shipping’s fleet consists of three OSVs, all of which are out of contract and have been laid up at Mumbai Port.
PFS Shipping’s parent ABG Shipyard has been suffering from a debt crisis and is on the verge of bankruptcy following a series of failed attempts made by the lenders to sell the shipyard’s stake. In August, UK-based engineering firm Liberty House Group, controlled by billionaire Sanjeev Gupta, was in discussions to buy out the shipyard though nothing has materialised to date.