NEWS

On Monday the 21^st February the upgraded AIMS website was launched and is now live. 

Over the next few days all members will receive instructions on how to log in to the site. The promised upgrades to the “find a surveyor” section have been implemented and once logged in members will now be able to update their contact details themselves and will have access to restricted member only information. Members will also be able to reply to or comment on articles posted on the site, complete forms online and register for conferences and events.

On the 11^th March, Joelene our much loved RTO administration officer, left the AIMS to pursue a career overseas.  All of us at AIMS wish her all the best and thank her for her high level of customer service to all of our members.

Due to the rapid growth of the AIMS over the past year Andy Van der Rijt (Andy) has taken on the role of Office Manager.

Andy is a highly qualified business and finance manager and will help us to streamline the administrative tasks and provide improved services to both students and members. Andy will personally respond to all training and membership emails while we work on the new structure. He will be in the office each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 am – 2 pm. You can contact Andy on info@aimsurveyors.com.au or training@aimsurveyors.com.au or via phone on 02 62326555 during those hours.

MO 42 –Cargo Stowage and Securing is open for public consultation on the AMSA website and will close on the 30^th April 2016.

The current Marine Order 42 deals with carriage, stowage and securing of cargoes and includes requirements for loading of freight containers and blending of bulk liquid cargoes.

The Order gives effect to Regulations 2 (Cargo information), 5 (Stowage and securing), and 5-2 (Blending of liquid bulk cargoes) of Chapter VI of the International Convention on Safety of Life of at Sea 1974 (SOLAS).

In November 2014, the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted amendments to SOLAS chapter VI contained in IMO Resolution MSC.380 (94), which come into force internationally on 1 July 2016. The amendments provide new regulations for the verification of the gross mass of a packed container.

Marine Order 42 is amended to:

To make a submission you need to register with the AMSA online service first. 

Once you have registered you can then submit your comment on the AMSA form provided here. You can also request a form from AIMS on info@aimsurveyors.com.au

You can make your submission by downloading the form from the AMSA website and emailing it to MODraft@amsa.gov.au, or you can register with the AMSA online services and submit your comments using the online service.

When the consultation period ends, all responses are considered along with other information to help AMSA make decisions, develop policy or finalise regulatory changes. We provide feedback either to you directly, or in the form of a consultation report. If you have any questions about the consultation process, or how to submit your comments please contact Susan Hull on execoff@aimsurveyors.com.au

It is anticipated that the IMO Convention for the Control of Ballast Water and Sediments will be enacted in April 2016 at the IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee MEPC meeting.

Ratification is impending as several countries have recently signed the convention (current gross tonnage is 34.82%) and Finland appears poised to do so in the next few weeks.  That will bring the gross tonnage of the world’s fleet as signatures to the convention to over the 35% threshold whereby Australia will enact its domestic and international obligations to manage ballast water and sediments.  

The Convention in Australia is represented by 3 separate items that will require management by a Recognized Organization under the Biosecurity Act.

1.       Ballast Water Management Plans *

2.       Ballast Water Certificates*

3.       Ballast Water Treatment Systems (engineering)

The AIMS has established a subcommittee to support and work with the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. Dr Michael Sierp, a bio-fouling expert will represent AIMS on this committee and will work with the Executive Officer to develop Terms of Reference for the committee’s work. 

AIMS has opened its first independent office in a move that will help with accessibility to the organisation for its members, students and executive.

Executive Officer Susan Hull said the new office had been on the AIMS agenda for some time. 

“We chose Canberra as it is neutral in terms of state pride and we are really close to the action as the city is the powerhouse of government,” Hull said. 

“We will be holding our council and executive meetings at the office and auditors will be able to conduct their audits onsite.

“It has been a long time coming and helps the professionalism of the organisation.”

The AIMS office is open from 9am – 5pm Monday to Thursday. Emails and phone messages are checked twice daily outside of our trading times including weekends and public holidays.

The new office is located at:

Level 1, 68-70 Jardine Street 
Kingston ACT 2604 
Postal address:

PO BOX 6255 
Kingston ACT 2603

Phone:
+61 2 6232 6555 

AIMS members are being asked to sign a petition to secure the future of former Port Philip Bay pilot ship and Tasmanian Training vessel MV Wyuna.

The vessel has been left in limbo after it was relocated from Beauty Point, Tasmania to Melbourne’s Docklands, as a tourist attraction earlier this year.

Built in 1953 it is a scaled down version of the Royal Yacht Brittania and built at the same Glasgow shipyards on the Clyde. After 26 years working with the Port Phillips Sea Pilots, Wyuna operated as a training ship for the Australian Maritime College in Launceston.

“All the Australian shipping cadets of the 80’s & 90’s would have sailed on this vessel during their training at the AMC,” AIMS NSW Representative Andrew Graver said. 

“Prior to this it served for almost 30 years as the Melbourne pilot vessel. It is an important historical vessel and we must do what we can to secure it’s future.

“I urge you to sign the Petition today,” Mr Graver said. 

Over 100 delegates from 10 countries attended two days of presentations and spirited discussion regarding the issues caused by biofouling and marine pests.

The 2^nd Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Islands (ANZPAC) Workshop on Biofouling for Sustainable Shipping was held at the Melbourne Convention Centre on the 16^th and 17^th of September 2015.

The workshop was sponsored by GRD Franmarine, Hempel Paints, Maritime Industry Australia Limited (MIAL), the International Paint & Printing Ink Council (IPPIC), the Institute of Marine Engineering Science & Technology (IMarEST), Rightship and Eslink Services.

The aim of the workshop was to bring together representatives from maritime industries, governments and research organisations to develop effective and practical management strategies.  

Biofouling is one of the largest problems concerning shipping and significantly affects maritime industries ability to underpin trade, biosecurity and economic development with minimal environmental impact.

Biofouling affects fuel consumption, CO₂ emissions, slipping intervals, general maintenance, internal water system efficiency, vessel safety, quarantine arrivals processes and port entry requirements, as well as being a significant vector for marine pest transport which has caused billions of dollars of infrastructure and environmental damage around the world. 

The themes of ANZPAC 2015 included:

The keynote address by Mr Justin Gadbois, General Manager of Sustainability, Maersk Line – Asia Pacific, Singapore illustrated how the management of biofouling issues is core business towards their global strategy. Other presentations outlined the current challenges towards implementation of biofouling regulation, guidelines, compliance and conventions. 

Scientific research to address biofouling such as Dr Serina Wilkins work on discrete sonic mitigation frequencies and Dr Richard Piola work testing UV emitting LED lights to repel species settlement in seachests and on vessel hulls was thoroughly innovative. Associate Professor Jason Monty and colleagues’ work modelling biofouling effects on ship dynamics should revolutionise the calculation of drag on vessels due to biofouling and may be useful in maintenance scheduling in the future. Research and management issues were discussed in presentations from professionals based in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK and USA. The workshop was round up by Chair John Lewis from Eslink Services who led some thought provoking workshop panel discussions about current management versus evolving ecological theory.

The resulting discussions from the workshop will feed into the papers being written by the IMarEST Biofouling Management Expert Group (BMEG) which in turn are often raised at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) meetings in London, UK.

The programme and details on the list of speakers can be found at the Institute of Marine Engineering Science & Technology (IMarEST) website.    

The Organising Committee for ANZPAC 2015 were:

 

 

Dr Michael Sierp
AIMS Member

AIMS recently conducted a survey of our membership to seek valuable feedback about who our members are, what we can improve on, and what their thoughts are for the industry going forward.

The results of this survey can be viewed here - AIMS Survey Results

Following the 2015 AIMS Annual General Meeting and Council Meeting, changes were made to our Executive and State Representatives.

Russel Behan is the new state Representative for Queensland and his long association with MSQ (Marine Safety Queensland) and his expertise in Domestic Commercial Vessel survey will be bonus for the council in terms of advice on DCV regulatory matters.

We are also pleased to announce that Michel Lagesse has joined the Executive as the Secretary and brings with him solid business management experience that will be of great assistance to the team.

Anne Rutherford has resigned as our Tasmanian State Representative and her position will be filled for the time being by John Holden.

Australia is in a powerful position when it comes to the ability to maximise economic returns from the Maritime Industry, those in attendance at an industry event heard earlier this month. 

Maritime Industry Australia CEO Teresa Lloyd told members of the Australasian Institute of Marine Surveyors (AIMS) at its annual conference in Hobart, Australia had the fifth largest shipping task in the world. 

Lloyd said there were significant raw commodities for export, Australia will be the largest net exporter of LNG by 2018,  we are reliant on significant imports by sea and have a long coast line with geographically diverse populations and industries. 

She said a handful of changes to existing legislation would significantly increase GDP contribution by 50 per cent up to more than $13 billion dollars, see jobs increase by 30% up to over 40,000 and almost double tax revenue to a total of $1.77 billion.

“Most importantly, these economic benefits can be achieved at no net cost to the Australian economy,” Lloyd said. 

She said it was time to retain and expand the Seafarer Tax to make it available to all vessel types, remove flag requirements, make it available to all staff, regardless of rank or role and allow individuals to manage their own tax affairs when employed overseas.

Lloyd noted it was time to improve the Australian International Shipping Register (AISR) by reducing the eligibility requirements to 90 (or less) days international, allowing access to the AISR to offshore vessels and remove collective agreements negotiated with a seafarers bargaining unit. 

Lloyd said vessels should be encouraged to be in Australia. This could be achieved through the provision for circumstances whereby importation is not in the ‘national interest’, the introduction of a timeframe during which vessels in Australia will not be imported, for example 90 days and exemptions for vessels using Australian drydock facilities.

Minor changes to the way marine surveyors do business could streamline the process, members of the Australasian Institute of Marine Surveyors (AIMS) heard at its annual conference in Hobart this month.

Andrew Duncan, Commercial Analyst at Forestry Tasmania said Australian marine surveyors play an essential part of his job.

“How can you make my job easier?” Mr Duncan asked. “Verify everything I need before the vessel arrives or you show up to do the job. 

“What exactly are we calling this cargo? What are we calling the Draft Survey report? Why are you looking at this vessel?”

Mr Duncan said it needs to be called the “Certificate of Draft Survey” not the Draft survey report, not the Draft Survey Certificate.

“We want the “Certificate of Draft Survey” as early as possible because if we get the Draft survey at the unloading end to match the loading draft survey then the Chinese quarantine numbers match the Australian quarantine numbers and it goes smoothly.

Mr Duncan said not only do marine surveyors provide draft surveys they play an important role in crisis management. 

“The moment something gets seriously damaged on vessel while loading or unloading – I’m calling you! I want an independent view.

“I want answers quickly. Time is literally money for an exporter, at almost a thousand dollars a day a five day delay in documents will cost $5000 dollars,” Mr Duncan said.