Tag: Australia

In mid-2016, several industry bodies from the Australian marine sector came together, sharing a conviction that bunkering Heavy Fuel Oil, which traditionally powers global maritime shipping trade, had to change. It was clear that LNG was a significantly cleaner transitional energy source, that could replace HFO. To this end, a LNG Marine Fuel Institute is officially launched in Australia.

Fighting against illegal fishing, the Australian research organization CSIRO announced that it is developing the world's first notification system that alerts authorities, when offending vessels arrive in port. The web-based reporting tool identifies and ranks vessels across the globe based on a list of behaviours associated with illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.

Australia will resume the Senate Inquiry into Flag of Convenience Shipping. The inquiry comes in the wake of double murder findings by the NSW Coroner, investigating the deaths of two foreign seafarers aboard MV Sage Sagittarius in Australia, in 2012.

​IMO announced that three more States have become Party to Ballast Water Management Convention, designed to counter the threat to marine ecosystems by potentially invasive species transported in ships' ballast water.

Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation said that it is undertaking the world’s largest marine pollution survey, working with countries across the globe to help them assess and reduce the amount of litter entering the oceans.

Australia will not de-harmonise the IOPP Certificate from the HSSC (Harmonised System for Survey and Certification) for Australian flagged ships. However, if an owner chooses to bring forward all surveys, AMSA would not object as the ship will remain compliant with the HSSC. AMSA clarifies that a foreign flagged vessel arriving in Australia with a de-harmonised IOPP Certificate would be acceptable if the flag Administration has allowed the de-harmonisation.

The Government of Australia announced that the country ratified the International Ballast Water Convention, to meet environmental compliance with global shipping standards. In total, 55 states have ratified the convention, with most recent the Saudi Arabia in May and New Zealand in January.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority announced that it has banned the Papua New Guinea-flagged cargo ship "Kiunga Chief" from entering or using Australian ports for three months, after the ship was detained for a third time in less than 18 months, due to the failure of its operators to safely and effectively manage the operations of the vessel.

The government of Queensland announced its plans to allocate up to $75 million in funding, for the Townsville Channel Capacity Upgrade Project, according to the Port of Townsville. This is the first stage of the $1.64 billion Townsville Port Expansion Project, that will widen the shipping channels to accommodate larger ships.

INPEX announced that the world’s largest semi-submersible platform and the central processing facility of the Ichthys LNG Project safely arrived in the Australian waters of the Browse Basin, on May 29th. The 120,000-tonnes "Ichthys Explorer" reached her final destination, 220 kilometres off the north coast of Western Australia, where she will be located for 40 years.