Trade-A-Boat

King Island’s shipping

service has been taken over

by a Tasmanian Government

entity after the operation

to take over from SeaRoad

failed to materialise.

TasPorts took over from an

interim service provided by

SeaRoad in early April, which

was put in place after Port

& Coastal Marine Services

was unable to procure a

ship to meet its proposed

January 2017 start. That

effectively terminated a

joint venture between Port

& Coastal Marine Services

and SeaRoad to service the

island.

Tasmanian Minister for

Infrastructure Rene Hidding

said TasPorts’ action had

“become necessary following

the failure of the commercial

market to offer a reliable and

affordable shipping service

at this point in time”.

TasPorts has secured

the landing barge Toll

Investigator – to be renamed

Investigator II for the service.

Built in 2014, the 52.2m

by 15m landing craft can

transport wet and dry

cargoes, with just under

389m^3 for fresh water, 646m^3

for fuel, and capacity for 66

TEUs. The 326m^2 external

cargo deck is supplemented

by 70.8m^2 of covered area,

all rated to 10 tonnes per

square metre. Maximum

King Island

Shipping Secured

Vietnamese Vessels

Apprehended

Three Vietnamese fishing

vessels that were suspected

of illegally fishing in

Australian waters were

apprehended in February.

In the first reported

incident, Maritime Border

Command (MBC) working

in cooperation with the

Australian Fisheries

Management Authority

(AFMA) and Parks Australia

apprehended the vessel and

its 15 crew near Lihou Reef

in the Coral Sea.

The vessel was initially

sighted by an MBC

surveillance aircraft

approximately 325nm east

of Cairns and 172nm inside

the Australian Exclusive

Economic Zone.

ABF Cutter Storm Bay

responded to the sighting

New Zealand is enforcing

the Maritime Labour

Convention (MLC) – a

move designed to protect

domestic and international

seafarers and improve

their safety and wellbeing

aboard foreign-flagged and

New Zealand ships.

“New Zealand has

always ensured its labour

laws are up to scratch

with the latest legislation

from around the globe,

but seafarers will benefit

from the improved safety

and living standards

introduced,” said Maritime

NZ Director Keith Manch.

“The advantage for

New Zealand in ratifying

the convention is we can

inspect foreign-flagged

ships to make sure they

meet the MLC standards.”

New Zealand is among

81 member states that have

adopted the convention.

It applies to everyone

working on a ship and

requires that all crew have

some form of health and

safety training.

Seafarers who need

medical care on a ship

overseas are entitled to

shore-based medical care

at the owner’s expense.

The convention also covers

timely payment of wages,

and repatriation in cases of

death or injury at work.

NEW ZEALAND ENFORCING MLC

vehicle weight is 120 tonnes.

Powered by a pair of Yanmar

6EY17W diesels the vessel

operates at around 10kt.

King Island Mayor

Duncan McFie said that

he understood concerns

about the vessel but “it is

our understanding that the

proposed service is intended

to operate for a period of

up to six months while

negotiations to secure a

larger vessel can be made.”

He added that he

believed there are plans for

Investigator II to provide at

least three and possibly four

sailings a week, one solely

for livestock from Grassy to

Stanley.

Hidding stressed that

the TasPorts service

was a medium-term

solution: “In the longer

term, the government

remains committed to the

establishment of a triangular

service between King Island,

Tasmania and Victoria.”

and after a short pursuit

successfully intercepted the

target vessel.

The crew were

apprehended, with the

vessel and crew being

escorted to Cairns for further

investigation by AFMA and

Parks Australia for breaches

of the Australian Fisheries

Management Act 1991

and the Environmental

Protection and Biodiversity

Conservation Act 1999

(EPBC).

Later in the same month,

two Vietnamese fishing

vessels and their 29 crew

were apprehended for

suspected illegal fishing near

Saumarez Reef in the Coral

Sea Marine Park.

The vessels were sighted

by an MBC surveillance

aircraft on 15 February and

intercepted by the RAN

patrol boat HMAS Bathurst.

Both vessels had sea

cucumber on board.

Storm Bay was despatched

to assist HMAS Bathurst

steam the vessels back to

Gladstone for their transfer

to AFMA.

114 tradeaboat.com.au

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