FIA Immigration: Shipping Agent Fined PKR 1.5 Million Over Karachi Port Violations
FIA says immigration inspection uncovered irregular crew documents on a vessel arriving from Oman, leading to action against the ship’s local agent.
FIA Immigration officers inspect a cargo vessel during a document verification operation at Karachi Port.
KARACHI: FIA Immigration has imposed a PKR 1.5 million fine on the local agent of a cargo vessel after officials detected alleged immigration violations during an inspection at Karachi Port.
According to an FIA spokesperson, the action was carried out under the supervision of the Deputy Director Immigration Karachi when the vessel MT ASNA arrived at Berth DB-1 from the Omani port of Shinas.
During the immigration clearance process, officials found serious irregularities in the travel documents of three crew members. Two Yemeni nationals were carrying expired seaman’s books, while an Egyptian national possessed a Belize-issued seaman’s book that did not correspond to either his nationality or the vessel’s flag state, the FIA said.
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The spokesperson said authorities issued a notice to the vessel’s master, seeking an explanation for the discrepancies. However, the master failed to provide the required supporting documents for the crew, including Certificates of Competency (CoC), Certificates of Proficiency (CoP), medical certificates and STCW certification.
According to the FIA, the vessel’s master later submitted a written explanation acknowledging the irregularities and assured authorities that similar violations would not occur in the future.
Following the inquiry, FIA Immigration imposed a fine of PKR 1.5 million on the vessel’s local shipping agent, M/s East Wind, for violating immigration regulations.
