Torres Strait News

The use of a draft voyage planning tool which included waypoint data errors plus an ongoing technical fault with the vessel monitoring and surveillance system for the Great Barrier Reef contributed to a cargo ship’s grounding on a shoal, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has concluded.The 81-meter general cargo ship Trinity Bay grounded on Harrington Shoal, a charted feature with a depth of 0.9 metres north-west of Harrington Reef, on the morning of January 19, 2021 while conducting a regular weekly passage from Thursday Island to Cairns.

While the adoption of unmanned/uncrewed surfaces vessels (USVs) was initially in defence, use of these low footprint systems has spread into other sectors, not least survey, and now the race is on for greater capability, endurance and autonomy. Elaine Maslin reports.After starting small, in inland waterways, use of USVs for survey operations has moved into coastal and now offshore waters. Given the extensive amount of seabed and rapid growth in offshore wind, there’s plenty of work out there for them to do.With the travel restrictions posed by Covid and increasing awareness of climate change…

A Marshall Islands-flagged tanker helped rescue two people from the water after their boat sank in the Torres Strait.At about 7:15 a.m. AEST on Thursday, a coastal pilot on board the tanker Godam contacted Townsville Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) to report a sighting of two people clinging to a timber plank in the water.The location for the sighting was about 10 kilometers southeast of Sue Islet, Warraber Reef. Conditions were rough with two to three meter swells with around 30…

The Australian government has announced via the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that from June 16, 2016, new requirements for ships engaged in international voyages will be enacted under the auspices of the ‘Biosecurity Act 2015’. A section of the ‘Biosecurity Act 2015’ concerns ballast water from ships on international voyages and has been so drafted as to ensure the implementation of the IMO’s ‘Ballast Water Management Convention’ (BWM Convention). Consequently, from June 16, 2016 Australia will authorize the use of ballast water management systems which have been type approved via the IMO type approval process, as well as the currently accepted methods of ballast water management such as the ballast water exchange.

According to the Australian Reef Pilots (ARP), Australia is now the fourth biggest cruise market in the world. Part of the boom in cruising has to do with more specialty cruise ships coming to the region. The smaller size cruise ship segment seems purpose-designed to transit the remote waters of the Kimberley coast. However, larger-vessel cruise companies are now expressing interest in touring this remote and rugged north-west region as well as the Great Barrier Reef. In fact, the number of cruise ships using ARP’s services has increased by more than 89 percent since 2010.

The engineering group Monadelphous has won a $200 million Shell Australia contract on its Prelude floating LNG project off the Kimberley coast. The contract is for major, long-term maintenance and modifications services for the Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) project in Browse Basin, 475km northeast of Broome in Western Australia. Monadelphous will provide maintenance, brownfield modifications and turnaround services to the LNG process plant, support utilities, hull and non-process infrastructure including accommodation and control rooms. The contract also includes the delivery of fabrication services from Darwin in support of offshore operations. The contract is for an initial seven years with a further two, 2 year extension options.

It is likely that regions like the Baltic, the North Sea, the Strait of Malacca, Torres Strait and other areas will implement e-Navigation services that modern ships transiting these areas will be required to subscribe to. This will have the effect of requiring such ships to implement e-Navigation even without a formal IMO carriage requirement. Ships transiting the St Lawrence Seaway are already using e-Navigation services. The U.S., too, is making plans to implement certain e-Navigation Services in its coastal and inland waters. The maritime insurance industry is starting to realize that proper implementation of e-Navigation will improve their general average and is considering avenues to encourage their customers to implement e-Navigation.

Marine safety in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula area is getting a boost with the donation of 1,400 children’s lifejackets as part of the Torres Strait Marine Safety Program (TSMSP) School Based Maritime Safety Education Project. The primary focus of the TSMSP is to improve and promote boating safety in the Torres Strait, which will help reduce the number of search and rescue operations in the area and support the development of the region’s coastal maritime industry. Maritime Safety Queensland Cairns Regional Harbour Master and Chair of the TSMSP Steering Committee, Captain Michael Barnett, said his organisation was proud of the milestone achieved by the TSMSP.

The new mandatory code for ships fuelled by gases or other low-flashpoint fuels was adopted by IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), when it met at the Organization's London headquarters for its 95th session from June 3-12, 2015. The Committee also placed unsafe mixed migration by sea on its agenda and considered cyber security matters and passenger ship safety. It adopted new ships’ routing measures and approved a number of circulars arising from items put forward by the subcommittees.

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meets for its 68th session from May 11-15, 2015, at IMO Headquarters in London. Items on the agenda include the proposed adoption of the environmental part of the Polar Code and associated draft MARPOL amendments to make the Code mandatory; the implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention; further work on air pollution and energy efficiency measures; and a proposal to extend the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) to parts of the Coral Sea.

Australian marine pilotage company Australian Reef Pilots (ARP) has been bought by a consortium of its employees. ARP, which services shipping through the Great Barrier Reef, has been sold by the private Brisbane-based company Torres Industries to a group of ARP executives and reef pilots, making for a very ‘hands on’ team. ARP CEO Simon Meyjes has led the buyout and said it would be business as usual during the transition. “We know the business and our customers intimately and want to seize the opportunities we can see to grow and expand our services,” Meyjes said.

The IMO-adopted ship routeing measure to enhance the safety and efficiency of navigation and protect the region’s sensitive marine environment will come into effect at 0000 UTC on 1st December 2014. The two-way route aims to reduce the risk of collisions and groundings by separating opposing streams (e.g. north and south-bound) of traffic and encourage ships to follow well-defined lanes. The route will also help ensure ships keep clear of the numerous shoals, reefs and islands that lie close outside, particularly in the northern portion of the GBR and Torres Strait. The IMO-adopted two-way route extends from the western end of Torres Strait, through the Prince of Wales Channel, the GBR Inner Route and terminates at the southern boundary of the GBR Marine Park (see chartlet attached).

A Hong Kong flagged vessel was detained in Queensland following a Port State Control (PSC) inspection conducted by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) which identified a number of deficiencies. MV Bulk Ingenuity was detained under the Navigation Act 2012 for failing to carry relevant nautical charts and publications as required under international shipping convention and failing to prepare a voyage plan taking into account the Designated Shipping Area (DSA) of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park on a voyage from China to Abbot Point. AMSA inspected the vessel following the detection of the vessel by the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait Vessel Traffic Service (REEFVTS)…

Australian industry, state and federal governments have endorsed a new National Plan for Maritime Environmental Emergencies. According to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority AMSA, the new plan sets out the cooperative arrangements between governments and industry to respond to maritime pollution and shipping casualty incidents. The plan, managed by AMSA, was reviewed with extensive input from key stakeholders, from industry and government, drawing on their experience with maritime emergencies both domestically and internationally since the last plan was put in place in 2001. AMSA Chief Executive Graham Peachey said the new plan combines pollution response and the management of maritime casualties for the first time in its 40 year existence.

A new interactive display on Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA) has been launched at IMO Headquarters and online at www.pssa.imo.org. A PSSA is an area that needs special protection through action by IMO because of its significance for recognized ecological or socio-economic or scientific reasons and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities. To date, IMO has designated 14 PSSAs. The new display and website include videos, pictures, maps, and graphic displays…

Salvage services with environmental objectives are undervalued, according to the International Salvage Union. ISU President Joop Timmermans told some 200 delegates at the March 2003 Fourth International Marine Salvage Conference: “In the ISU’s view, environmental defense – as a function of salvage – is undervalued. The ISU–sponsored conference was held at the London headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Joop Timmermans said the salvor’s reward for his traditional role, property recovery, was related to the value of that property. As for any additional value placed on environmental – or public interest – salvage services, the Special Compensation provided under Article 14 of the Salvage Convention is confined, essentially, to the reimbursement of expenses.

An extra session of IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) will be convened in December 2003 to consider the adoption of proposals for an accelerated phase-out scheme for single hull tankers, along with other measures including an extended application of the Condition Assessment Scheme (CAS) for tankers. The proposed amendments to MARPOL 73/78 were discussed during the week-long forty-ninth session of the Committee, ending 18 July. Speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General Mr. William O'Neil at the close of the session, Assistant Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios Mitropoulos said that the outcome of the intense negotiations on the issue was successful in general terms, although the decisions made were not final, pending the extra MEPC session in December.

The Australian Maritime Safety Agency (AMSA) issued a Marine Notice

Australian Reef Pilots (ARP) popularly known as 'Guardians of the Reef' and the country's leading pilotage company has won a national accolade for its work to protect one of the planet’s most sensitive and treasured areas – the Great Barrier Reef. ARP picked up this year’s esteemed Australian Shipping and Maritime Industry Award (Safe Transport Category). Chief Executive Officer Simon Meyjes said the award recognised ARP’s unique world-class Safety Management System (SMS).“Our SMS gives access to real-time information on pilot schedules…

AMSA’s Thursday Island officer Adrian Davidson was on board ETV Pacific Responder when it was tasked to assist in the stabilisation and subsequent tow of the ID Integrity after it suffered engine failure in the Coral Sea on Friday 18 May. The Pacific Responder is the only designated emergency towage vessel is Australia and is located in the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait region. When it is not required for emergency response, it is used for training and survey purposes.

New shipping fairways being progressively introduced in August 2012 off the coasts of NW Australia. Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese recently announced the fairways saying commercial shipping was vital to Australia’s economy and with industrial and mining activity on the increase in Western Australia, so too was shipping. “For busy shipping routes, it’s important we continue to increase navigational safety and reduce the risk of ship groundings and collisions,” Mr Albanese said. “That is exactly what the new network of Shipping Fairways will do. He said vessels would begin to use the Shipping Fairways when electronic and paper navigational charts were progressively updated from this month (August 2012) onwards.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has awarded two substantial new contracts to Brisbane-based company Australian Maritime Systems Limited to provide emergency towage services in Far North Queensland as well as to maintain its aids to navigation network. AMSA Chief Executive Officer Graham Peachey said the Level 1 emergency capability operates out of Cairns and provides a dedicated 24/7 vessel and crew to provide emergency towage and first strike emergency response on behalf of AMSA.

Systemic safety issues in Queensland coastal pilotage operations have been identified in an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report. Coastal pilots form a key defence against a serious shipping incident in parts of the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait as part of a suite of broader protective measures already in place. The ATSB began an investigation into coastal pilotage operations in December 2010 following the release of its report into the grounding of the piloted tanker Atlantic Blue in the Torres Strait and a request from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)—the coastal pilotage safety regulator.