Tag: AMSA

From 1 September 2018, owners of human-powered and sailing vessels less than 7.5 metres in Australia can be exempt from having to get a unique identifier for each vessel, if a certificate of operation covers the vessels, AMSA said. Exemption 1 allows greater flexibility around the unique identifier requirements for these vessels.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority informed that a total of 34 domestic commercial vessel incidents were reported in the month of August. Of these, 12 were serious. Reporting marine incidents to AMSA is meeting reporting obligations under Australian laws.

AMSA coordinated a multi-national search and rescue response after being informed of an injured solo yachtsman Abhilash Tomy. A French fisheries patrol vessel rescued Abhliash Tom, while it also evacuated a second solo yachtsman, Gregor McGuckin, from the SV Hanley Energy Endurance.

AMSA has a steady increase in incident reports, from 1721 reports in 2013, to 3017 reports in 2017, which represents a 75% increase over a five-year period. From 1 January to 30 June 2018, AMSA received 1611 incident reports and 78% of them concerned some form of technical issue.

Organisations which prioritise the safety and welfare of their seafarers over business costs and performance have more developed safety cultures, lower levels of fatigue and sleep problems among their crews. This is one of seven key findings from a recent study into safety culture in the maritime industry.

A Port of Newcastle survey vessel has located 37 of the 81 containers that fell overboard the cargo ship YM Efficiency, on June 1, 30 kilometres southeast of Newcastle, off Australia. The vessel continues the search for the remaining containers. Most of the containers were found near where the YM Efficiency lost the cargo.

All cargo, whether carried on or under deck, should be stowed and secured in accordance with the vessel’s Cargo Securing Manual as approved under Regulation 5.6 of Chapter VI of the Safety of Life at Sea Convention. This includes the way in which cargo is secured and the weight distribution of cargo within the stow.

The West of England P&I Club informed of an increase in fines for those polluting Australian waters. As of 1 July 2018, the  maximum fine for a spill in Commonwealth waters has increased to $4.2 million for a Master and $21 million for a corporate Owner or Charterer.

Australia-based Triangle confirmed an oil spill on 24 July at its Cliff Head Alpha Offshore Platform, 14 km offshore in the Perth Basin, around 300 km north of Perth. An aerial and shoreline surveillance on Thursday however showed no hydrocarbons in the marine environment.

From January 2021, float-free EPIRBs will be mandatory on certain types of commercial vessel. This change to safety requirements is in response to tragic incidents in which commercial vessels sank quickly and the master and crew were not able to deploy their EPIRB in time.