At the recent board meeting, Australian Maritime Safety Authority Chairman, Mr Ted Anson launched the new look and feel corporate branding for AMSA. The new look will encompass all aspects of the organisation’s public face and internal communication tools. This inaugural edition of AMSAaboard is a small example of what to expect, and we have already begun to incorporate our new look into our recruitment advertising for AMSA positions across Australia. Over the next few months you will notice changes to our website and documentation that will incorporate the new design feature and colours that will become familiar to you as being indicative of AMSA. |
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On 3 December 2007, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced his new Ministry and AMSA gained a new Minister, The Honourable Anthony Albanese MP, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Minister Albanese was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1996 representing the seat of Grayndler in New South Wales. Mr Albanese grew up in Sydney. He was born in Camperdown and educated at St Joseph's Camperdown and Christian Brothers, St Mary's Cathedral. He worked for the Commonwealth Bank and then studied economics at Sydney University. He was a research officer for the then Minister for Local Government and Administrative Services, Tom Uren and in 1989 was elected assistant general secretary of the NSW ALP, a position he held until 1995. He worked as Senior Policy Adviser to the Premier (NSW), the Hon. RJ Carr until 1996. |
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He has served on a range of House of Representatives Standing committees including: Ageing; Economics, Finance and Public Administration; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs; Financial Institutions and Public Administration; and Communications, Transport and Microeconomic Reform. Mr Albanese is the Leader of the House of Representatives and the former Manager of Opposition Business in the House Representatives. AMSA welcomes Minister Albanese to his new role. |
On 31 January the Governments of Australia and the Republic of Indonesia signed a landmark agreement to work together to improve Indonesia’s transport safety. Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said, "Australia places great importance on our close relationship with Indonesia and the agreements we have signed today will broaden the levels of cooperation to the benefit of both countries." Mr Albanese and the Indonesian Minister for Transportation, Jusman Syafi’i Djamal, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Transport Sector during a ceremony in Jakarta. |
 Manager Maritime Operations (East) David Penny discusses his Indonesian meeting with General Manager (Martitime Operations Division), Mick Kinley. |
AMSA is expected to be heavily involved in Australia's contribution to the agreement. Preparations have been underway for some months in anticipation of the signing. AMSA CEO Graham Peachey, General Manager (Emergency Response Division) Mr David Baird and General Manager (Maritime Operations Division) Mick Kinley visited Jakarta in August 2007 to meet senior Indonesian officials responsible for maritime transport and also see first-hand what conditions are like on a domestic ferry route. Manager Maritime Operations (East) David Penny was in Indonesia on 30 January to attend the inaugural Project Review Group meeting between Indonesia and Australia. |
The first eight months in my role as Chief Executive Officer of AMSA have been extremely busy to say the least. During this time I have seen major agreements signed that will have a beneficial effect on maritime safety across our region. I have attended some events that have enlightened and informed all participants. For the duration of this period I have seen AMSA continue its search and rescue activities across Australia and have enjoyed the collegiate way AMSA operates with other Departments and agencies. I am constantly impressed with the professionalism of AMSA staff across Australia. In November, Australia was again elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and will continue to take a leading role in delivering IMO's ship safety and environment protection initiatives. |
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The recent signing of a Transport Assistance Agreement between Australia and Indonesia is an important chapter in the relationship between our two countries and will provide an opportunity for AMSA to share its expertise with our Indonesian colleagues. I have no doubt that both countries have much to learn from each other. In December, AMSA played a significant role in the Torres Strait Marine Safety Program with the dissemination of 250 406MHz Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons across the Torres Strait community. Already one of those beacons has been used in a successful search and rescue incident involving five people when a mechanical breakdown occurred. AMSA is actively engaged in a recruitment and retention campaign and as a part of this, you will soon see some changes to our website and publications. This inaugural online edition of AMSAaboard is an example of what you'll see in the future. While we have said goodbye to some of our AMSA team, we have also been fortunate to welcome some new colleagues, some permanently and some on loan from across the world. Yew Weng Ho joins AMSA as the new General Manager, Corporate Services Division. Emily Rowe from Oil Spill Response East Asia Response Limited in the United Kingdom joined AMSA as part of a three month exchange program last year and after her departure in December Bryony Wood has joined the AMSA team for three months. In December, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in association with the Australian Shipowners Association, Shipping Australia Limited and the Association of Australian Ports and Marine Authorities hosted Australia’s National Shipping Industry Conference, Natship07. This was an extremely successful event and the high calibre national and international speakers generated much debate and reinforced the importance of these kinds of networking opportunities. |
To celebrate Australia Day, AMSA awarded three staff with outstanding service awards. Rhianne Philip for her involvement with Natship07, Linda Berryman as the 406 database manager and Chris Barber for outstanding commitment to OH&S issues. This inaugural edition of AMSAaboard contains more information about these significant events as well as introducing our new Minister, the Honourable Anthony Albanese. It also highlights many of the events and activities AMSA has recently undertaken. |
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I encourage you to take the time to read through this edition and I look forward to what the remainder of the year will bring across the maritime sector and the challenges it will pose for AMSA.
Mr Graham Peachey |
On 11 December 2007, the AMSA Board and Senior Executive had the opportunity to meet with Admiral Efthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Admiral Mitropoulos was in Australia to deliver the keynote address at Natship07 and the meeting was held prior to the opening of the conference. Admiral Mitropoulos was elected to the role of Secretary-General in 2003 and is the seventh Secretary-General of the IMO, the United Nations agency concerned with maritime safety and security and the prevention of marine pollution from ships. |
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Admiral Mitropoulos has been involved with the maritime industry since 1957. Following his career at sea in the Greek Merchant Navy, he gained experience as a maritime economist, lecturer and author, harbour master and marine technologist. From 1965 to 1979 he was a member of the Greek delegation to IMO, rising to head of delegation. He joined the IMO secretariat in 1979 and in 1985 was appointed head of the Navigation Section. In 1989 he became Senior Deputy Director for Navigation and Related Matters and in 1992 was appointed Director of the Maritime Safety Division. In 2000 he was designated Assistant Secretary-General. |
His Excellency, the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia Major General Michael Jeffery spent Wednesday 20th February visiting flood affected Mackay in far north Queensland. While their homes were untouched, AMSA staff were not immune to the affects of the flood, with the AMSA office being closed during the worst of the flooding. Marine Surveyor, Laurie Mayer met with the Governor-General during his visit to Mackay. The City of Mackay had well over a metre (1000mm) of rain by mid-February which is close to the record set for the entire February 1958 when the last big flood occurred. It is interesting that this was (within a few days) exactly 50 years ago. |
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The bad weather and strong winds closed the port of Hay Point from Monday evening 11 February and it did not re-open until Tuesday 19 February causing a huge back-log of ships waiting to come into port. On Friday 15 February, Mackay received 600 mm of rain in only six hours and more than 2,000 homes have been damaged by the flooding. For more pictures of the Governor-General's visit click here. |
 The Australian Maritime Safety Authority in association with the Australian Shipowners Association, Shipping Australia Limited and the Association of Australian Ports and Marine Authorities hosted Australia’s National Shipping Industry Conference – Natship07 in Brisbane between 11-13 December 2007 for more than 200 national and international delegates including delegates from Indonesia, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The keynote speaker for Natship07 was the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, Admiral Efthimios Mitropoulos who discussed International Developments Across the Shipping World. Other topics covered during the course of the conference included global shipping market trends, port infrastructure and development, vessel tracking, skills training, shortages and solutions, shipping safety issues, the IMO Voluntary Audit Scheme, environmental protection and pilotage issues. The quality of the national and international speakers as well as the wide range of topics discussed, provided invaluable information for all attendees. The conference also provided an opportunity for attendees to meet with colleagues from across the nation and around the world. |
 (LtoR) Chief Executive Officer, Mr Graham Peachey; AMSA Board Member, Mr Allan Thomson; AMSA Chairman, Mr Ted Anson; and IMO Secretary-General, Admiral Efthimios Mitropoulos at the Natship07 Conference.  Delegates from around the world heard a range of national and international speakers. |
On Friday 23 November 2007, Australia was again elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) after 96 of the IMO's 167 member countries supported its candidacy at the IMO Assembly meeting in London. Australia will continue to take an active role on the 40 member IMO governing body for another two years until the end of 2009. This will take its total period of service on the Council to 40 years since the IMO was established in 1959. Mr Peachey as head of Australia’s delegation, said the strong vote recognised the leadership Australia had shown across the Oceania region with its contribution to ensuring the IMO’s ship safety and environment protection initiatives were delivered. Mr Peachey also commended Australian maritime agencies and industry for their willingness and cooperative approach to meeting Australia’s international obligations to the IMO. Mr Peachey congratulated New Zealand on their election to the Council and acknowledged the strength their membership would bring to the Oceania region of the IMO. |
The National Search and Rescue Council held its 31st meeting in Melbourne on 15-16 November 2007. The Council is made up of representatives of the Commonwealth, State and Territory SAR Authorities who meet annually to discuss search and rescue operational, training and policy issues to continually improve the coordination between the agencies. The SAR authorities are the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, Defence and the State and Territory Police Services. |
 Commander James Hart presents the National SAR Award to Inspector Ross Paine and Mr Roger Corbin. |
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Following the opening of the meeting by Commander James Hart, the head of the Victoria Police Special Services Division that includes the Water Police and Police Rescue Squad, the opportunity was taken for the Commander to present the National Search and Rescue Award for 2007 to Mr Roger Corbin, the Managing Director of Rotor Lift Aviation and Inspector Ross Paine, the OIC of the Tasmania Police Marine and Rescue Services who accepted the award on the behalf of the Tasmania Police Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service manned by Police, Ambulance and Rotor Lift aircrew and operated by Rotor Lift Aviation. The award was presented to the rescue service for their excellent support in over 700 SAR missions across Tasmania and its surrounding seas as exemplified by the rescue of the solo Japanese sailor 120 nautical miles South West of Tasmania in May 2007. |
The 34th Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand conference was held in Canberra between 26 - 28 September 2007. As with previous years, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority was a major sponsor of this very important annual event with the Welcome Address provided by AMSA's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Graham Peachey. |
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| The Conference was officially opened by the Chief Minister of the ACT, Jon Stanhope MLA and the Dethridge Memorial Address was given by The Honourable Justice Michael D Kirby AC CMG. High calibre speakers from across the maritime sector spoke on topics covering security, marine safety, fishing regulation and proposals for Australian Law Reform. The Vice President of MLAANZ, Ms Sarah Derrington gave special recognition to AMSA's Corporate Secretary, Ms Sue Edmondson for her pivotal role in the organisation of such a successful event for 2007. The next conference is planned for November 2008 and will be held in Perth, Western Australia. |
General Manager - Emergency Response Division, Mr David Baird PSM will retire from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority on 14 March 2008. In announcing Mr Bairds retirement, AMSA CEO, Graham Peachey said "David has made a significant and lasting contribution to AMSA over many years. He has been tireless in his efforts to ensure that AMSA continues to deliver quality results across all its activities and in doing so he has played a strong leadership role that has proven to be invaluable." |
 David Baird, Janet Baird and AMSA Chairman Ted Anson at the Board farewell |
"David has taken the lead in the work of the National Search and Rescue Council, the National Plan Management Committee, the National Plan Operations Group the Strategic Maritime Management Committee of Cabinet and the AMSA Search and Rescue Consultative Forum. He also represented AMSA at international forums including the Cospas-Sarsat Council meeting in the USA." David joined AMSA in 1995 as Area Manager for Victoria and Tasmania before moving to head office in Canberra in 1997. Before joining AMSA David was Harbour Master in the port of Westernport (now Hastings). His seagoing career includes service with Ellerman and Bucknall Steamship Company of London and from 1971 to 1976 with ASP Ship Management. In June 2006, David was awarded the Public Service Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours, in acknowledgement of his outstanding public service in the fields of marine pollution response, ship safety, search and rescue operation and global distress and safety systems. |
The countdown continues towards the cut off point for 121.5 MHz distress beacons. From 1 February 2009 only 406 MHz distress beacons will be detected by the Cospas-Sarsat system. All 121.5 MHz beacons MUST be replaced by a 406 MHz beacon immediately or authorities will not be able to locate you if you are in a distress situation. The new 406 MHz beacons are detected more quickly and accurately (to within 5 km by satellite compared to 20 km for the analogue beacons). They also transmit vital information which can dramatically assist in rescue efforts. |
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As well as purchasing a 406 MHz beacon, AMSA encourages all 406 MHz beacon owners to register their beacons to ensure they receive the maximum benefit that the new safety technology offers. As part of AMSA's contribution to the Torres Strait Marine Safety Program, Linda Berryman (pictured) visited the Torres Strait in December to begin the process of disseminating 250 406MHz beacons donated to the program by AMSA. Unwanted beacons can be disposed of at any Battery World outlet around Australia. For more information, or to register your beacon visit: www.amsa.gov.au/beacons |
Participants of the Emergency Management Seminar facilitated by Emergency Management Australia for military officers from the Asia/Pacific region paid a visit to AMSA's Emergency Response Centre on Tuesday 30 October 2007. The Seminar is a program which is conducted over a two week period in Canberra, and is focused on the development of capacity within the participating countries by equipping delegates with skills in risk management, resource coordination, the development of community plans, and an understanding of community recovery programs. |
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As well as attending formal lessons, participants add to their knowledge by visits to agencies in the ACT that deal with the provision of emergency response and services. It is hoped that through their exposure to Australian agencies, participants will gain an understanding of the emergency management model that is nationally utilised. During their visit to the ERC, Senior Search and Rescue Officer (Aviation) Artie Heather provided an overview of the functions and responsibilities of the Centre, particularly with regard to the role of aviation and maritime search and rescue across a tenth of the world's surface. |
AMSA's Emergency Response Centre played host to the 2007 Maritime Air Surveillance Course on Monday 22 October 2007. The course is conducted under the Defence Co-operation Program at the Australian Defence Warfare Centre in Williamstown and is designed to give students the skills necessary for the design, implementation and operation of a national surveillance system. Students from Malaysia, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines and Thailand were provided with an overview of the Centre, including its aviation and maritime search and rescue, oil spill management and emergency towage capacity. |
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In October, AMSA's Manager Ship Inspections, Mr Allan Schwartz presented at the Seacare Maritime Occupational Health and Safety Forum in Fremantle on the issue of trends issues and gaps in maritime occupational health and safety from a regulators perspective. The Forum was also attended by AMSA CEO, Mr Graham Peachey and covered issues surrounding OH&S from the perspective of regulators, Heath and Safety Representatives and employee perspectives. A round table discussion concluded the Forum with breakout groups identifying issues of concern that could be pursued through the auspices of Seacare at a future date. Seacare Chairperson, Mr Geoff Gronow paid special tribute to AMSA's Geoff Toomer (on his retirement) for his considerable contributions to Seacare over the years and his ability to quietly negotiate successful outcomes during difficult debates. |
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The International Maritime Organization has embarked on a review of STCW through the Standards of Training and Watchkeeping Sub-committee (STW). The principles of the review are: to retain the structure and goals of the 1995 revisions; address inconsistencies and interpretations; address effective communication; provide flexibility with innovation in technology; address short sea shipping and the offshore industry; and to address security related issues. In undertaking the review, Member States at STW have also agreed that there should be no scaling down of standards. |
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Australia, lead by AMSA, is participating in this review and at the 38th Session in 2007 provided a submission suggesting areas for improvement including: enhanced environmental training; mandating the requirement for bridge and engineroom resource management training, for simplifying the combination of training requirements for passenger ships and ro-ro passenger ships; and the need to enhance an Administrations five yearly reporting requirements to the IMO. The 39th session to be held in March 2008 is expected to be a very busy session and it is expected that Australia will once again actively participate. |
The SOLAS amendment for Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) came into force on 1 January 2008, with compliance by 31 December 2008. Recognising the complicated distribution structure, testing on the system will begin in July 2008. The amendments require vessels to automatically, and without human intervention on board the ship, transmit the vessel identity, position and date/time at 6-hour intervals. The system was agreed in such a way as to ensure no direct cost to shipping or search and rescue, with contracting Governments bearing all costs of the system. LRIT is a collection and distribution system for basic information on vessels and applies to the following ships engaged on international voyages:
There are two aspects to LRIT:
AMSA is participating in the Australian whole-of-government approach to LRIT, and will be directly involved in its implementation. Border Protection Command has engaged Pole Star Global to provide the Australian National Data Centre (NDC) and it has been agreed that the link from the NDC to Australia will be through the AMSA Vessel Tracking program. Pole Star Global is working actively with AMSA to ensure that the identified Australian flagged vessels are integrated in a timely manner, and approximately 60% of the fleet are already reporting automatically to the NDC. Through the adoption of the commercial NDC, Australia is well placed to respond to the obligations and benefits of LRIT. |
Representatives from Australia’s state marine authorities together with the National Marine Safety Committee and Yachting Australia (Victoria, Northern Territory, and the AMIF were unable to attend) were present at AMSA’s Head Office in Canberra for the convening of the Australia New Zealand Safe Boating Education Group (ANZSBEG), where issues on safe recreational boating were discussed. AMSA’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Graham Peachey welcomed all jurisdictional attendees and provided them with a tour of AMSA’s Emergency Response Centre - where Search and Rescue officers were responding to a live distress beacon activation. |
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Invited guest, Mr Alasdair Hainsworth represented the Bureau of Meteorology at the meeting, giving an insightful presentation highlighting the new technologies used by the Bureau in monitoring ocean currents and conditions - reinforcing the importance of checking weather conditions prior to going out on the water. |
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) coordinated the successful rescue of four New Zealand sailors approximately 250 kilometres east of Byron Bay in adverse weather conditions. AMSA’s Rescue Coordination Centre – Australia dispatched two of its dedicated search and rescue Dornier aircraft to the location of the Silhouette II, a 45ft catamaran that had received a hole to its hull and was taking on water rapidly. |
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Both the Essendon Dornier and the Cairns Dornier, along with a Defence P3 Orion were able to provide continuous top-cover and direct the bulk carrier, Alltrans to the exact location of the sinking yacht. All four people, who had taken to their life raft, were successfully transferred to the Alltrans and conveyed to Gladstone |
On 1 August 2007, the British yacht Lamachan with a solo sailor on board, declared a distress after running aground on Elizabeth Reef, 95 nautical miles north of Lord Howe Island. The Rescue Coordination Centre – Australia coordinated the search and rescue response that resulted in the sailor being winched to safety by a Navy Seahawk helicopter on 2 August 2007. The yacht was unable to be salvaged and remains on Elizabeth Reef. During the incident, the catamaran Cutloose stood by to provide assistance and communication with the stranded vessel. |
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At a debrief conducted by AMSA on Lord Howe Island on 28 August, the crew of the Cutloose were presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for the valuable assistance during the rescue operation. |
Working closely with the Queensland Police Service, AMSA's Rescue Coordination Centre - Australia was involved in a search and rescue in Torres Strait between 31 October and 1 November 2007. |
Police were alerted by concerned relatives to an overdue boat with six people on board after it failed to reach Badu Island enroute from Saibai Island on the afternoon of 31 October. The RCC was responsible for the coordination of the aviation assets required for the search. At its peak, the search area extended to some 3,800 square nautical miles and involved 10 aircraft - six fixed wing and four helicopters. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority's dedicated Dornier search and rescue aircraft out of Cairns and Darwin were both involved in the search. Target drift mapping provided by staff within the RCC in Canberra, established the most likely search area of the missing vessel which resulted in the vessel being detected in almost the centre point of the search area. |
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The Cairns Dornier, operated by AeroRescue provided radio communication between the RCC in Canberra and the Customs search aircraft that located the missing vessel. All six people (four adults and two children) were winched to safety by the Coastwatch helicopter from Horn Island and were transferred back to Saibai Island. The Cairns Dornier also provided top-cover during the winching operation. |
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AMSAaboard is a maritime industry newsletter based on AMSA's operations. For further details or information on this issue contact: AMSA Public Relations Level 2, 25 Constitution Avenue, Canberra ACT 2601 GPO Box 2181, Canberra ACT 2601
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