Foreign ships a security risk

Date: 07 March 2002

Battle to save Australian shipping intensifies as coastal security comes under the spotlight

The Maritime Union is inviting politicians and media onto the CSL Yarra, Fishermen's Island, coal berth, Brisbane this afternoon as the battle to stop the Australian registered ship being sold and brought back on the coast under a foreign flag hots up.

More and more Australian flagged and crewed vessels are being replaced on our coast by foreign flagged and crewed vessels exempted from the security checks that airports, planes, travellers, asylum seekers and immigrants are subject to at a time when experts are warning that our coasts are vulnerable to attack.

Politicians visiting the vessel at 4.30pm include the Shadow Minister for Transport Martin Ferguson, Senator elect Claire Moore and Margaret Keech, MP, Qld.

The proposed sale of the Yarra will be discussed in light of the following:

• concerns raised by experts at the Centre for Maritime Policy, University of Wollongong that unlike airports and embassies, coastal security has not been upgraded since November 11 (The Daily Telegraph, 4/3/02) and the upcoming conference "Protecting Australia's Maritime Borders in Canberra on March 20.

• suppressed government reports that an Australian flagged fleet should be maintained on both economic and security grounds

• growing reports and incidences linking Flag of Convenience shipping to crime such as drug dealing, gun running, people smuggling, money laundering, tax evasion, illegal fishing, fraud, pollution, oil spills (numerous reports from Lloyds List, London and Fairplay international shipping weekly available by fax or email on request)

• inadequate powers over foreign ships and inability or unwillingness to implement guidelines to revoke ship's permit. For example the Bunga Teratai Satu reef grounding and the current investigation into a serious accident on the CSL Pacific (formerly Australian, now flying the Bahamas flag of convenience) The government has not revoked its permit despite the ship being under investigation of the ATSB after a serious accident on board. This is in breach of the conditions specified in its permit. (http://www.dotars.gov.au/xmt/svp%5Fguidelines.htm)
(Lloyds List/Daily Commercial News, 4/2/02)

• widespread abuse of crew eg ANL Progress currently in dispute with the International Transport Workers' Federation over backpay owing to crew amounting to $400,000 and substandard shipboard conditions (ANL,once the government line, now flies the Cypriot flag of convenience) (SBS TV, 25/2/20) See also Ships Slaves and Competition, March 2001 report by the International Commission on Shipping (ICONS) (www.icons.org.au)

• a recent incident involving ship chartered to carry Australian wheat exports (Axion 1) where no records of how many men on board belonged to the ship. "Wheat Board ship carrying illegal crew members," (The Australian 12/02/02)

• fraudulent certification and corruption enabling people with no seafaring skills to buy documentation and jobs on ships (both a safety and security risk). The ITF recently illustrated this by obtaining chief officers papers over the internet for a price when the union official had no seafaring training or credentials (Lloyds List Daily Commercial News 15/3/01)

• reports of 'crew' jumping ships and avoiding immigration (http://wopared.parl.net/hansard/reps/dailys/dr220600.pdf - p.18159 and p.18142 )

• a contradiction in government policy which protects Australian domestic airlines from foreign carriers on interstate runs. (except NZ bilateral arrangement)

• immigration and other issues arising out of the use of guest workers in our domestic transport industry. Shipping is the only industry in Australia which actively encourages guestworkers to replace Australians using the Howard Government's single and continual voyage permit system.

The MUA won a temporary injunction stopping the sale of the Yarra in December. The matter goes back to the Federal Court in April.

Contact: Ric Newlyn, MUA, 0418841378, Dave Perry, Acting MUA Brisbane, 0419 024 208,

For further information

Contact:	Zoe Reynolds
Union:	Maritime Union of Australia
Phone:	0417 229873
WWW:	http://www.mua.org.au/

LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed
by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW
[Credits] [Site Matters]