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Highlights 2003-2004

AMSA, 14th Annual Report, 2003 - 2004

International Maritime Organization

AMSA continued to make a significant contribution to the work of the IMO in developing and implementing ship safety and environment protection measures relevant to Australia. Major achievements included:

Re-election of Australia to the IMO Council;
Adoption of a new international convention on control and management of ship’s ballast water;
Adoption of international guidelines on places of refuge for damaged and disabled ships;
Advancement in the IMO timetables for fitting ships with Automatic Identification Systems and phasing out of single hull tankers.

Great Barrier Reef ship safety and pollution prevention

Substantial progress is being made in implementing the recommendations relevant to AMSA from the 2001 Review of GBR Ship Safety and Pollution Prevention Measures including:

Progressing IMO consideration of compulsory pilotage in Torres Strait;
Upgrading the REEFREP Ship Reporting Service to a Coastal Vessel Traffic Service;
Strengthening the regulatory framework for coastal pilots and related fatigue management;
Improving coordination of Emergency Response Division services;
Developing aids to navigation, both conventional and electronic.

Ship safety compliance monitoring

AMSA keeps pursuing initiatives to improve the quality of foreign flag ships operating in Australian waters:

Further refinement of AMSA’s targeting system for ship safety inspections towards higher risk ships and focused inspections at specific safety issues;
Ongoing development of ship information databases and sharing of ship inspection data;
Broadening of responsibility for ship safety to include the role of charterers and cargo owners;
Providing leadership in regional forums to adopt targeting techniques and improve ship data collection and exchange.

Search and Rescue

There has a been a number of developments in relation to AMSA’s search and rescue operations, including:

Additional Federal Budget funding of $18.9 million over the next four years to strengthen AMSA’s search and rescue capability;
Finalisation of the Inter-Governmental Agreement on National Search and Rescue Response Arrangements;
Adoption of the National Search and Rescue Manual as the national standard reference for search and rescue operations;
Promotion of ship and boating safety awareness, in particular adoption and effective use of 406MHz distress beacons.

National and International Conferences

AMSA held the National Shipping Industry Conference in February 2004, a Western Australian maritime industry workshop in August 2003 and the biennial International Oil Spill Conference, Spillcon 2004, in August 2004.

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last updated: May 2005