After being lost for 77 years, an Australian freighter sunk by a Japanese submarine during World War II has been located by maritime archaeologists using CSIRO research vessel Investigator. The SS Iron Crown was sunk on 4 June 1942 while travelling through Bass Strait with a cargo of manganese ore. The heavily loaded freighter was hit by a torpedo from a submarine and sank within a minute.
The port of Newcastle announced that the Australian government withdrew the $12.7 million funding for the new cruise terminal project. The funding was firstly announced in 2016 aiming on the expansion of the cruise industry in the Hunter.
The Australian government announced launch of the largest ever Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) to drive an evolution in marine-based industries, unlocking economic, environmental and technological benefits for a Blue Economy.
Premier of Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk broke ground on Brisbane’s $158 million new International Cruise Terminal. The project is planned to open in October next year, with the potential to more than double Brisbane’s cruise industry. Port of Brisbane CEO Roy Cummins said that within its first five years the terminal is expected to handle more than 1,100 vessel calls and around 1.8 million passengers.
Nuyina, the Antarctic Supply Research Vessel which is being built for the Australian government’s Antarctic Division has gotten unique rudders and steering gear. The project is lead by Damen Marine Component (DMC), who completed the supply and installation of a number of critical systems.
As Reuters reports, prices for Australian heavy-sweet crude grades are increasing since traders rush to gain cargoes for blending ahead of new rules on shipping fuel, placing them among the most expensive crudes in the world.
The Australian National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority informed that oil and gas major Shell has applied to obtain a permission to conduct a seismic survey offshore Kimberley, Australia. Shell Australia is planning to carry out the Factory three-dimensional (3D) marine seismic survey (MSS) within the Browse and Bonaparte Basin offshore Western Australia (WA).
The Australian passenger vessel ‘Fitzroy Flyer’ suffered an engine room fire and all of its four crew and 37 passengers were evacuated, east-north-east of Cairns, Queensland on 29 March 2019. Fitzroy Flyer was on a return trip to Cairns from Fitzroy Island.
Port of Newcastle’s coal exports increased 5% during the first quarter of 2019, reaching 27.3m tonnes. Namely, March volumes rose 0.5m tonnes year on year to 9.1m tonnes, in spite of worries about customs delays that could affect exports to China. In comparison to February, March volumes were up by 0.2m tonnes. What is more, the number of ships awaiting to take delivery from the port reduced to five.
Starting from 1st April 2019, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has applied changes to shipping registration laws, some of which may impact operators. Namely, the way of closing a registration—for ships not required to be registered has changed.
