Tag: AMSA

All cargo, whether carried on or under deck, should be stowed and secured in accordance with the vessel’s Cargo Securing Manual as approved under Regulation 5.6 of Chapter VI of the Safety of Life at Sea Convention. This includes the way in which cargo is secured and the weight distribution of cargo within the stow.

The West of England P&I Club informed of an increase in fines for those polluting Australian waters. As of 1 July 2018, the  maximum fine for a spill in Commonwealth waters has increased to $4.2 million for a Master and $21 million for a corporate Owner or Charterer.

Australia-based Triangle confirmed an oil spill on 24 July at its Cliff Head Alpha Offshore Platform, 14 km offshore in the Perth Basin, around 300 km north of Perth. An aerial and shoreline surveillance on Thursday however showed no hydrocarbons in the marine environment.

From January 2021, float-free EPIRBs will be mandatory on certain types of commercial vessel. This change to safety requirements is in response to tragic incidents in which commercial vessels sank quickly and the master and crew were not able to deploy their EPIRB in time.

Tests conducted in Australia in 2017 indicate that the EVDS was not recognisable as a distress alert when seen. This reinforces that EVDS devices should not be used instead of a pyrotechnic flare. AMSA reminds that distress signals carried should comply with either the SOLAS or the Australian standard.

The Singapore-flagged cargo ship 'IVS Phinda' has rescued two Australian sailors Monday morning, 370 kilometres north of Darwin. The sailors were travelling from Indonesia to Australia on their yacht, the 'Jepeda IV', when they lost their mast in rough weather.

AMSA announced ban of the Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier 'Shandong Hai Wang' for 12 months, over deliberate crew underpayment, on 7 July. ITF welcomed this action saying that 'this is the kind of enforcement that seafarers deserve from all authorities'.

AMSA announced ban of the Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier 'Shandong Hai Wang' for 12 months, over deliberate crew underpayment, on 7 July. The ship was immediately detained for breaching the Maritime Labour Convention which sets out seafarers' rights to decent working conditions.

AMSA will be the only service provider under the National System for Domestic Commercial Vessel Safety. Australia will allocate an additional $10 million funding for the national system, which means no taxes to the industry for the first three years of AMSA's service delivery, in order to help all operators as services transition. 

Since MLC came into force in August 2013, a lot of inspections have been conducted on items related to working & living conditions of seafarers. Paris MoU and AMSA are two regions which appear to conduct thoroughly PSC inspections with respect to MLC implementation.