Gerry Brownlee News

South Pacific island nations are scouring shipping records for vessels with links to North Korea after Fiji said it had identified 20 falsely flagged ships it suspects the isolated regime is using to evade United Nations sanctions. Fiji, along with Interpol and the Singapore-based regional shipping regulator Tokyo MoU, are investigating the vessels for links to North Korea, a spokesman for the country's Maritime Safety Authority (MSAF) told Reuters on Friday. Interpol and Tokyo MoU did not immediately respond to requests for comment on their investigations. The 18 members of the Pacific Islands Forum this month agreed to launch an audit of every ship registered in the Pacific to search for any links to North Korea.

New Zealand Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee has signed into law the Maritime Rules giving effect to SeaCert – a major overhaul of the certification process for New Zealand seafarers. SeaCert is the new Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) seafarer licensing framework for domestic and international Certificates of Competency and Proficiency. It also sets out where seafarers can operate in local and international waters and will replace the old Qualifications and Operational Limits (QOL) system. “SeaCert provides a new, simpler and competency-based domestic certificate framework as well as increased recognition of New Zealand certificates overseas, making it easier for New Zealand seafarers to work in other jurisdictions,” said General Manager Maritime Standards Sharyn Forsyth.

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) welcomed the release of the independent review of its response to the grounding of the Rena, and the announcement of $2 million of government funding to help improve New Zealand’s maritime response capability.The report, by independent reviewer Simon Murdoch, was released today by Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee.MNZ Director Keith Manch said the organization was already implementing a number of the review recommendations and the funding package would help MNZ develop a wider strategic and operational response to maritime incidents.In the review report…

New Zealand Government Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee has announced a $2 million package to help Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) improve New Zealand’s wider maritime response capability following an independent review of its response to the grounding of the container ship 'Rena' off the coast of Tauranga in October 2011. Conducted by former Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Murdoch, the review identified several areas for improvement. Mr Brownlee says the Rena response was about more than oil…