Tag: AMSA

Covering the mandatory coastal pilotage areas The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has published an Industry Passage Plan covering the mandatory coastal pilotage areas of the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait.The publication contains standard passage plans through the compulsory pilotage areas, including waypoints and courses. It is envisaged that vessels will take account of such details when planning a passage via the Great Barrier Reef or Torres Strait and plot the waypoints and courses on their charts or enter them into their electronic chart systems. If, after boarding a vessel, the pilot finds that the Industry Passage Plan has been adopted, only minor adjustments to the plan may be required depending on operational conditions.The publication also contains guidance and information on:Routes and draught restrictionsMandatory reporting requirements (REEFVTS)Charts that should be carriedEquipment requirementsPilot ladders and boarding arrangementsMaster/Pilot information exchangePilot CardPilotage guidanceBridge resource managementCoastal pilotage risk managementAlthough compliance is not obligatory, AMSA encourages all Masters that are due to transit any of the compulsory pilotage areas in the Great Barrier Reef and/or Torres Strait to consider the recommendations when preparing their passage plans. The publication may also be kept on the bridge for reference, and for discussion during the Master/Pilot information ...

This publication is used as a training and instruction manual AMSA releases Marine Notice advises of the release of updated publication Survival at Sea. This publication is used as a training and instruction manual to provide a comprehensive guide on distress situations and emergencies at sea.This instruction manual assists in meeting international and Australian requirements for the saving of life at sea including appliances to be carried and the measures to be observed on ships. Survival at Sea provides an indispensable information source for all mariners.The international and Australian requirements in respect of life-saving appliances including emergency training and drills are implemented bythe Navigation Act 1912 and Marine Orders (MO) Part 25 - Equipment Life-saving. MO Part 25 gives effect to Chapter III of SOLAS, including giving effect to the LSA Code, and prescribes matters for the purposes of sections 215 and 228 of the Navigation Act.These requirements include that one copy of the latest edition of the Survival at Sea Instruction Manual is provided for each crew member onboard, and in each survival craft on Australian registered ships to which MO Part 25 applies. SOLAS specifies that all ships over 500 gross tons must have survival instructions in recreation ...

A notice providing guidance The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) issued a notice providing guidance regarding use of electronic nautical publications on board ships to meet the carriage requirements for nautical publications as set out in Chapter V (Safety of Navigation) of the SOLAS Convention.To view the Notice please click hereSource: Australian Maritime Safety Authority

AMSA updated the publication to include new technologies, methods and survival advices AMSA Chief Executive Officer Graham Peachey launched the new edition of Survival at Sea at the Great Barrier Reef International Marine College, Cairns.Under the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea, or SOLAS, all ships over 500 gross tonnes are required to have survival instructions such as Survival at Sea in the recreation rooms, crew cabins, lifeboats and liferafts. In Australia, this is implemented by Marine Orders Part 25, which also requires Australian cargo ships less than 500 gross tonnes to carry the manual.In launching the new edition, Mr Peachey explained how the manual is applicable to all users of the sea.Survival at Sea is not purely for large vessels, but relevant to all users of the ocean be they commercial or recreational.It is written in simple, practical language and provides important information on the use of life-saving equipment and practical survival techniques, where circumstancesmay require resourcefulness and knowledge to survive at sea until help arrives, Mr Peachey said.The book was launched as part of the Fourth Pacific Regional Maritime Search and Rescue workshop.The first edition of Survival at Sea was published in 1978 and this revised ...

Ports of Australia and AMSA support the union's push for radiation testing The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) will this week screen cars arriving in Port Kembla from Japan.This batch test for radiation follows months of campaigning by the MUA to ensure Japanese cargo and cars were screened for radiation upon arrival in Australia."This is a win for workers, and also a win for the Australian public," said Assistant National Secretary Warren Smith."Any risk of radiation is too big a risk to take. Workers and consumers come into direct contact with these cars - the Government watchdog must ensure there is no health and safety risk."The Australian public has a right to know if there is a radiation threat."In early May, cars arriving in Chile from Japan were found to be contaminated with radiation. Despite this, ARPANSA refused to commit to scanning cargo until today, after long-running talks with Maritime Union officials."We know from the tragedy in Japan that people are feeling the effects of radiation hundreds of kilometers away from the destroyed nuclear plant. We can't take the risk of contaminating workers," said Mr Smith."All we have been asking is for cargo to be tested before ...

Marine Notice issued by AMSA The purpose of this Marine Notice is to update shipowners and operators on the application of the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001 (the Bunkers Convention) in Australia.This Marine Notice supersedes Marine Notice 9 of 2009 and includes updated information on the application of the Bunkers Convention to oil tankers.The Bunkers Convention entered into force internationally on 21 November 2008 and the Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage) Act 2008 implements the Convention in Australia.Ships of more than 1000 gross tonnes entering an Australian port or offshore facility are required to carry a Certificate of Insurance or Other Financial Security in Respect of Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage (Bunkers Certificate), in accordance with the Conventions specified format. The term ship in the Convention is defined as any seagoing vessel and seaborne craft, of any type whatsoever. Vessels operating in inland waterways or solely within the limits of a port or harbour are therefore exempt.The Bunkers Certificate is issued by parties to the Bunkers Convention and attests that insurance or other financial security is in force with respect to the ship to cover the ...

For bunker oil pollution damage The purpose of this Marine Notice is to update shipowners and operators on the application of the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001 (the Bunkers Convention) in Australia. This Marine Notice supersedes Marine Notice 9 of 2009 and includes updated information on the application of the Bunkers Convention to oil tankers.For more information, press here.Source: AMSA

Hosted by AMSA on May 3-6 AMSA hosted the Asia-Pacific- A Regional Dialogue on the Maritime Labour Convention conference in Cairns from 3-6 May.The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006 is an emerging international global maritime priority, setting minimum requirements for seafarers to work on a ship including conditions of employment, hours of work and rest, accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering, occupational health and safety protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection.The conference was opened by AMSA Chief Executive Officer Graham Peachey who welcomed maritime regulators, shipowners, the International Transport Workers' Federation, seafarer welfare organisations, shipping agents and classification societies from 20 Asia-Pacific nations, noting that over 60 per cent of the worlds seafarers are from the region.Wednesdays keynote speaker, Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Director of the International Labour Standards Department of the International Labour Organization (ILO) spoke about the critical importance of the Asia-Pacific region to deliver decent working conditions and a level playing field in a global industry. She advised that the MLC was likely to be ratified in 2011 and come into effect 12 months later.Thursdays keynote speaker, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport described the MLC as the fourth pillar of ...

Bulker grounds off Australia A coal carrier that ran aground off Gladstone in central Queensland last week is still anchored off the harbour.The Panamanian-registered ship became stuck on a mud bank in the main shipping channel on Friday afternoon.Marine surveyors and divers have been inspecting the coal carrier.A spokesman from Marine Safety Queensland says it is waiting on Federal Government approvals before the ship is moved.The Australian Marine Safety Authority and Australian Transport Safety Bureau are compiling reports into the incident.Source: ABC News

Two large drifting nets recovered On 15 April a Coastwatch aircraft reported a large fishing net drifting to the west of Torres Strait, inside the Australian EEZ. A Customs Bay Class vessel attended the scene, however on inspection they found that there were two nets, both of which were far too large for them to recover.The nets contained a large number of turtles and sharks. Border Protection Command requested assistance from RCC Australia to recover the nets due to the potential risk posed to ships navigating the western approaches to Torres Strait. (Last month a large vessel was disabled in Torres Strait with propeller damage due to net entanglement.)AMSA tasked the Emergency Towage Vessel Pacific Responder to recover the nets and the crew spent two full days on the task.The nets had a combined length of 7 nautical miles (approx 13km). Marine life found in the net by the crew numbered 312 fish including whaler & hammerhead sharks, spotted, shark and Spanish mackerel, barracuda, tuna and sailfish. 3 Stokes sea snakes and 4 turtles were also caught up in the net (two of which we were able to be released).The nets were delivered to Weipa where they were received by ...