Tag: Australia

AMSA Marine Notice 7/2012 The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has issued Marine Notice 7/2012 - Guidance on ECDIS for ships calling at Australian ports, which aims to clarify some of the emerging issues relating to the carriage requirements for Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) and provide guidance to ships fitted with ECDIS calling at Australian ports.Two flow charts that address ECDIS related issues and which will be used by AMSA's Port State Control Officers (PSCO) are included. The flow charts outline ECDIS-related implementation and operational issues and the related deficiencies that could be invoked by AMSA's PSCOs.As mandatory carriage of ECDIS will be phased in from 1 July, 2012, owners and operators of ECDIS-fitted ships are encouraged to take the guidance in Marine Notice 7/2012 into account.AMSA's PSCOs will increasingly focus on the means by which ships meet their SOLAS chart carriage requirements and the effectiveness with which the navigational task is being conducted.You may view AMSA Marine Notice 7/2012 by clicking hereSource: AMSA

Bulk carriers entering Australian waters is posing a significant risk to the Great Barrier Reef There are claims an influx of bulk carriers entering Australian waters is posing a significant risk to the Great Barrier Reef.Reef Pilots Australia says vast tracts of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park are unprotected because low-cost foreign crews lack experience and local knowledge.About 1200 bulk carriers travelled through reef waters last year, with traffic increasing five per cent in five years.Mick Kinley from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority says the option of increased pilotage in the Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea and Torres Strait is being assessed."We are very aware that the consequences of are extremely high of not doing things, of risks that do come to fruition as an incident and in any cost-benefit analysis you've actually got to look at what are the potential effects of not taking that action," Mr Kinley says.But he says increased traffic in itself does not represent an increased risk."We can certainly say that the waters of the Great Barrier Reef are among some of the most highly protected waters in the world," he says.Source: ABC News

Health of the Barrier Reef is threatened fromvessels entering Australian waters Current efforts to protect the Great Barrier Reef from environmental damage will be strengthened greatly by the Federal Government's shipping policy reform agenda, the Maritime Union of Australia said.The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese announced the shipping policy agenda, entitled Stronger Shipping for a Stronger Economy, late last year.Its aim is to revitalise the Australian shipping industry, which has been weakened by competition from so-called flag of convenience ships that operate without proper regulation.MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said shipping reform had a vital role to play in the government's current efforts to protect the Barrier Reef."The health of the Barrier Reef is currently threatened from a wide range of angles, however there is obviously a very significant potential effect from shipping," he said."You don't have to go too far back to see how true this is. Accidents like the Shen Neng 1 coal carrier incident in 2010 prove just how dangerous shipping can be to the natural environment if not conducted under proper regulations."In recent years alone, the Pasha Bulker and Rena incidents have added further evidence in this area."There are a huge variety of factors ...

One of the wonders of the natural world is at risk

Standard P&I Club Further to our web alert of 20 December 2011, strict liability offences for the discharge of oil or an oily mixture from a ship into the sea by a master and/or owner of a ship has been extended to the charterer under new amendments to the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983 ("the Act"). This is a departure from previously settled law in Australia and many other common law jurisdictions.The bareboat, time and voyage charterers of a ship now face criminal penalties if an offence is committed, regardless of any actual fault on their part or on the part of the master or owner.The discussion papers surrounding the amendments are silent on the rationale behind this change, but the assumption of various commentators is that the rationale is to expand the class of persons who can be prosecuted and held liable in respect of oil pollution, thereby presumably acting as a general deterrent against pollution. While this is an understandable and laudable intention the extension is controversial given that charterers usually have little if any control over the operations and actions which may result in oil pollution.As noted in our previous web ...

To reduce the amount of foreign ships on Australia's coastlines The federal government is planning to introduce a bill that will see the local shipping industry handed tax breaks as part of a push to reduce the amount of foreign ships on Australia's coastlines, according to The Australian Financial Review.According to the newspaper, the new laws will place conditions on all foreign ships and give a generous tax exemptions to Australian vessels on both domestic and international shipping income.Analysts say the exemptions, contained in draft laws released by the government, are unprecedented in their generosity to local industry. "It's probably one of the broadest packages of exemptions that would be available across industries," Blake Dawson partner Teresa Dyson told the Source: AFR

COAL exports through the Port of Newcastle increased by about 10per cent last year COAL exports through the Port of Newcastle increased by about 10per cent last year, reaching about 114million tonnes.But income from the industry might not be a record, with ''spot'' or one-off sale prices well down on historic highs, and lower-quality export coal reportedly selling for less than $100 a tonne.Newcastle has three coal-loaders. Terminals at Carrington and Kooragang Island are operated by the Rio Tinto and Xstrata-backed Port Waratah Coal Services.A second Kooragang loader owned by the BHP Billiton-backed Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group began shipping in 2010.Port Waratah publishes its exports but the infrastructure group does not, meaning that the annual Newcastle exports are an estimate, based on the amount of coal arriving at the port from the mines.In its latest monthly report, the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Co-ordinator, which oversees the industry, said 113.9million tonnes of coal arrived at the port in the year to December 31.If as much coal left the port as came into it, the infrastructure group's share of the total would be about 16million tonnes for the year.The group could only use smaller ''handy'' or ''panamax'' class ships until October, when ...

A potential sign that the predators were adapting to cope with climate change Scientists said on Tuesday that they had discovered the world's first hybrid sharks in Australian waters, a potential sign the predators were adapting to cope with climate change.The mating of the local Australian black-tip shark with its global counterpart, the common black-tip, was an unprecedented discovery with implications for the entire shark world, said lead researcher Jess Morgan."It's very surprising because no one's ever seen shark hybrids before, this is not a common occurrence by any stretch of the imagination," Morgan, from the University of Queensland, told AFP."This is evolution in action."Colin Simpfendorfer, a partner in Morgan's research from James Cook University, said initial studies suggested the hybrid species was relatively robust, with a number of generations discovered across 57 specimens.The find was made during cataloguing work off Australia's east coast when Morgan said genetic testing showed certain sharks to be one species when physically they looked to be another.The Australian black-tip is slightly smaller than its common cousin and can only live in tropical waters, but its hybrid offspring have been found 2,000 kilometres down the coast, in cooler seas.It means the Australian black-tip could be ...

Australia becomes the 22nd member State to ratify the landmark Convention

Australia becomes the 22nd member State to ratify the landmark Convention On 14 December 2011, the Government of Australia deposited with the International Labour Office the instrument of ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006). Australia becomes the 22nd member State to ratify the landmark Convention, which sets out seafarers' rights to decent working and living conditions while creating fair competition for shipowners.In receiving the instrument of ratification, Ms. Doumbia-Henry, Director of the International Labour Standards Department, stated: "Today, the Government of Australia delivers on its commitment to play a leading role in the ratification and implementation of the MLC, 2006 - a commitment reaffirmed at the Regional Dialogue on the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, hosted by Australia in May 2011 with a view to strengthen the cooperation and consistent application of the Convention across the Asia-Pacific region. The effort of the Australian Government is all the more commendable as it required an amendment to the Commonwealth maritime legislation and extensive consultations with the different government jurisdictions. Australia's ratification proves that the momentum in the Asia-Pacific region remains strong and I am optimistic that further ratifications are shortly to come from this region which is strategically important for ...