In 2019, the RMI Maritime Administrator (the Administrator”) issued MSA No. 18-19, Immersion Suit Deficiencies. This MSA focused on the importance of following the
manufacturer’s instructions for maintaining immersion suits, including use of the correct zipper lubricant. Since then, there have been multiple instances of defective or improperly maintained immersion suits on RMI-flagged vessels, one of which resulted in a preventable United States (US)
port State control detention where “29 of 32 immersion suits were unserviceable due to unsealed seams.” In this case, there were three identifiable failure points.