Australian Institute Of Marine News

Woodside Energy has reached agreement with three Australian maritime unions on the Australian crewing of an LNG vessel.The agreement with the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union – Maritime Union of Australia Division; the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers; and the Australian Maritime Officers Union preserves a role for Australian-resident seafarers in the maritime industry delivering LNG to customers across Asia.The agreement will support employment of around 70 Australian-resident seafarers on an LNG carrier within Woodside’s chartered fleet.

The economic output of Australia’s marine industry continued to grow despite the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on some sectors, a new report released by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) shows. The AIMS Index of Marine Industry 2023 is the latest assessment of the contribution of Australia’s marine sector to the national economy, using data from the 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years. It reveals that Australia’s marine industry had a total output of A$118.5 billion (US$774 million) and supported 462…

For the first time in Australia, autonomous marine technology developers have a location to safely test autonomous vessels without needing to apply for a permit. The Australian Institute of Marine Science’s ReefWorks inshore test range, near Townsville in north Queensland, was granted regulatory sandbox approval for uncrewed vessels from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).It’s the first approval issued under a proposed Australian Maritime Regulatory Sandbox advocated by Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS), AIMS and AMC Search.

The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has selected a team of naval architecture and engineering firms to design its new state-of-the-art research vessel. The design team, led by U.S.-based Glosten, includes One2three Naval Architects from Sydney and Maritime Survey Australia (MSA) from Melbourne.The new vessel will be bigger and more capable than its predecessor, with a larger working deck, room for more scientists on board, and the ability to act as a multi-technology and sensor platform, coordinating a range of autonomous systems.

Svitzer Australia, a subsidiary of A.P. Møller – Maersk, announced on Monday that it will lock out all harbor towage employees covered under its 2016 National Towage Enterprise Agreement and their union bargaining representatives starting Friday, November 18, amid ongoing pay disputes.The lockout, which is slated to run indefinitely, will impact shipping operations at Australian ports in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. No shipping…

Melanie Olsen is harnessing 10 years of missile defense and electronic warfare systems expertise to drive rapid technological innovation in marine research and monitoring. Today, on International Women in Engineering Day, the AIMS Team Leader for Technology Development Engineering shares her unique journey.Growing up in a third-generation farming family near the small settlement of El Arish in north Queensland, Melanie Olsen thought engineers were train drivers.When a James Cook University engineering lecturer visited her small rural high school with a quad helicopter…

Scientists circumnavigate and map the seafloor of the entire mesophotic (deep water) zone in Ashmore Reef Marine Park.Scientists discovered a sea snake thought to be locally extinct and saw several species such as the great spotted cowrie (Perissersoa guttata) for the first time in the Ashmore Reef Marine Park, off Australia, during Schmidt Ocean Institute's 18-day expedition that concluded this week.A team of scientists, led by Dr. Karen Miller of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)…

Tropical coral reefs lose up to two thirds of their zooplankton through ocean acidification. This is the conclusion reached by a German-Australian research team that examined two reefs with so-called carbon dioxide seeps off the coast of Papua New Guinea. At these locations volcanic carbon dioxide escapes from the seabed, lowering the water’s acidity to a level, which scientists predict for the future of the oceans. The researchers believe that the decline in zooplankton is due to the loss of suitable hiding places. It results from the changes in the coral reef community due to increasing acidification. Instead of densely branched branching corals, robust mounding species of hard coral grow, offering the zooplankton little shelter.

Tug engineers withdrew plans to strike at Port Hedland, Australia's biggest iron ore port, tug operator Teekay Shipping said on Thursday, removing a threat to exports from BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. The Australian Institute of Marine & Power Engineers (AIMPE) a day earlier had given notice of a four-hour stoppage to come on Nov. 22, after rejecting an enterprise agreement offering additional annual leave and three annual 2 percent wage hikes. But Teekay said AIMPE has agreed to a new enterprise agreement and withdrew its notice of industrial action. It did not disclose terms of the new agreement. "The AIMPE have endorsed the proposed enterprise agreement, which will be provided to the engineers for their review and vote to approve it," Teekay said in a statement.

Tug boat engineers at Port Hedland, Australia's biggest iron ore port, plan to stop work for four hours on Nov. 12 over a pay dispute, threatening exports from BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group , according to tug operator Teekay Shipping. The Australian Institute of Marine & Power Engineers (AIMPE) has given notice of the stoppage, Teekay said, adding that it exempted towage already under way. AIMPE Federal Secretary Martin Byrne said the action was aimed at having "minimal impact" on the port's users and would take place in the morning during a low tide…

Teekay Shipping employees at Port Hedland who are members of the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers (AIMPE) will take protected industrial action in the form of 4 hour work stoppages starting at 0315 on Saturday (9 August), 0500 on 11 August and 0615 on 13 August. Teekay has attempted to have the industrial action withdrawn by the Union, which has been rejected – and now will apply to the Federal Court for an injunction to stop it. For information about operations in Australia contact GAC Australia at [email protected]

All maritime unions – the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), The Australian Maritime Officers Union (AMOU) and Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers (AIMPE) – opposed the Abbott Government’s attempts to flood the offshore oil and gas sector with cheap foreign labour, says the Maritime Union of Australia. They consider that the Australian Parliament has made the right decision in disallowing this proposal. The Senate  voted to disallow the Federal Government from continuing to issue Maritime Crew (subclass 988) visas to foreign workers for the purposes of working in Australia’s offshore oil and gas industry. A petition calling…

Teekay Shipping took part in Australian government-sponsored mediation talks on Tuesday to avert industrial action by tugboat operators that could halt a quarter of global seaborne iron ore exports. There were no immediate comments on any outcome from the talks. BHP Billiton has previously warned that a strike by tugboat operators at Port Hedland on the Indian Ocean could cost up to $100 million in lost revenue each day. Deckhands, engineers and masters of the tugboats that guide vessels in and out of the port are pressing operator Teekay Shipping for more pay and leave. Deckhands, represented by the Maritime Union of Australia, last week approved plans to strike for one, two or seven days but have yet to decide whether to stop work. Any strike by them would have to take place by June 11.

Negotiations continue between Teekay Shipping and unions representing tug crews at Port Hedland in a bid to resolve the issue of enterprise negotiation agreements, GAC said in its daily Hot Port News report. The Fair Work Commission has granted permission to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), the Australian Maritime Officers Union (AMOU) and the Australian Institute of Marine & Power Engineers (AIMPE) to hold protected action ballot orders. The MUA ballot will conclude today, May 12, and the AMOU and AIMPE ballots on May 30 and June 10, respectively.

Challenges for the next decade in port and maritime research and development (R&D) and technology will be the focus of the 2nd International Conference on Port and Maritime R&D and Technology (ICPMRDT), to be held from 10-12 September 2003 at the Pan Pacific Hotel, Singapore. Five main sessions, which would be based on the theme "Port and Maritime R&D and Technology", will be featured at the 3-day conference. They are Port Development, Management and Operations; Coastal/Hydraulics Engineering; Marine Environment; Innovative Ship Designs and Operations; and Navigation and Maritime Training. These are key areas that offer great commercial potential for the maritime R&D and technology sector.