Australian ports slap ban on vessels
Vessels that are not complying with regulations like safety standards, international labour conventions and marine environment regulations could be banned from Australian ports.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) published Marine Notice 03/2015 stating that vessels not complying with the regulations can be prohibited from using or entering Australian ports for up to 24 months.
AMSA says it can also consider prohibitions on other vessels managed by the same company if the standard of the vessel subject to the ban is “so poor as to cast significant doubt on the standards of other vessels managed by the same company”.
In addition, AMSA has also left the door open to extending the timeframe of the prohibitions if the “performance of the company as a whole” is unacceptable.
There are currently four vessels on the list of vessels that have been issued with prohibition directions published on AMSA’s website, including one vessel which has been banned for a period of 12 months.
