The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is responding to an incident involving the loss of about three shipping containers from the Liberian-flagged container ship, Navios Unite.
The containership APL England, which lost approximately 40 containers on 24 May off Sydney, was allowed to leave the port of Brisbane and set sail to China, where it is scheduled to undertake repairs.
Shipowners, charterers, masters, operators need to be in caution of increased liabilities for fines being introduced in Australia, in addition to any pollution clean-up costs and damage claims.
Following the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s 12-month detention of the Panama-flagged “Fortune Genius” bulk carrier, the Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) further affirmed this decision.
Norwegian-based global shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean AS (WWO) has entered a guilty plea in the Federal Court to criminal cartel conduct, according to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).
AMSA has issued a direction ordering the owner of APL England to search for missing containers that were lost from their vessel off New South Wales last month. The direction also orders the owners to recover containers as agreed with AMSA.
Following the container loss of APL England, Australian authorities took actions to make sure that the owners and operators would take financial responsibility for the damages of the incident.
Following the container loss of the “APL England” cargo ship on 24 May off Sydney, the vessel’s master faced a Queensland court over allegations of poor cargo loading.
The AMSA led operation to recover containers lost from the YM Efficiency off the NSW coast is complete. On 8 May the vessel MV Pride returned to Port of Newcastle for the final time to discharge containers and pollution recovered from the ocean floor.
The Australian Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) programme managed to brought together the two halves of the first Arafura Class OPV and made a complete hull.
