CORONAVIRUS Symptoms shake the shipping industry
PROFILES ALEX RAWLEY, LEN PHILLIPS AND SACHI WIMMER WOOL AND WINE
AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS Australian Hydrographic Service Centennary
After IMO 2020 - Consequences of low sulphur fuel AUTUMN/WINTER 2020 The best ft is the one tailored for you
Bespoke services to help you stand out With 14 strategically located offces, GAC Australia has what it takes to serve your shipping needs for all types of cargoes and vessels, at all ports and offshore terminals throughout the country. From traditional ship agency to specialised services for bunkers, husbandry and crews, we measure and match our services to create the best ft for your business strategy. Our continuous investment in new services and technologies keeps you buttoned up to stay ahead of competitors.
gac.com/australia
Gulf Agency Company (Australia) Pty Ltd T: +61 02 8028 2400 F: +61 02 9279 0457 E: [email protected]
Our offces: Sydney (Main Offce) I Port Kembla I Melbourne I Adelaide I Fremantle I Dampier I Port Hedland I Darwin I Townsville I Mackay I Gladstone I Brisbane I Newcastle I Geelong
fb.com/GACgroup linkedin.com/company/gac-group CONTENTS AUTUMN/WINTER 2020 10
14 20 16
02 FROM THE BRIDGE 62 08 VIEWPOINT The “Dis-United States of Australia” 10 PROFILE 10 ALEX RAWLEY, director, Ocean Network Express 14 LEN PHILLIPS, general manager, Hyundai Merchant Marine (Australia) 16 INTRODUCING JIM WILSON, policy and communications ofcer, Shipping Australia Limited 54 20 WOMEN IN SHIPPING SACHI WIMMER, deputy chief executive ofcer, Australian Maritime Safety Authority 22 MARITIME HISTORY 22 No day too long, no task too arduous 50 AUTOMATION 26 Burns Philp: ‘bloody pirates’ of the Pacifc Living with autonomous systems 30 IMO 2020 53 INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS AFIF and CBFCA amalgamation 32 COVID-19 IMPACTS Consequences for cargo shipping and seafarers 54 BREAK BULK Port report: break bulk markets squeezed by ports and 34 THE SCENE alternative competitors 36 DANGEROUS GOODS 57 BUSINESS AND ECONOMY Reform needed to save lives, ships and cargo The economic impact on markets of the coronavirus pandemic 40 NAVIGATION 59 OUR NORTHERN NEIGHBOURS Roebuck Bay grounding - fndings identify lack of training, 59 Years of living prosperously – how important are Indonesia and human error and Australia economic ties? 42 EMISSIONS 60 The Thais that bind through thick and thin Carbon-free ship propulsion by 2050 62 LEGAL 44 WOOL 62 Cruising ahead of coronavirus and into a place of refuge The wool and shipping industries - a long history 64 The COVID-19 pandemic and the contractual force majeure landscape 46 WINE 66 Cruise shipping and the coronavirus COVID-19 sails Australian wine into murky waters 67 BOOK REVIEW 48 ACHIEVEMENTS Shipping business student wins Shipping Australia prize! 69 LETTER TO THE EDITOR
THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF Shipping Australia Ltd Level 6, 80 William Street, Wooloomooloo NSW 2011 PO Box Q388 Sydney NSW 1230 P: 02 9167 5838 Front Cover: W: www.shippingaustralia.com.au COVID-19
Publications commitee: Ross McAlpine, Frank Needs, over shadows James Granville, Jim Wilson Executive editor: Rod Nairn international Executive assistant: Sharyn Flood shipping in 2020 Feature writer(s): Jim Wilson, John Pagni Graphic designer: Sarah Abrahams E: [email protected]
Advertising: For advertising please contact; Sharyn Flood - 02 9167 5838, [email protected] Steve Moxey - 0400 473 200, [email protected]
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 1 From the bridge Shipping industry belt-tightening to survive the COVID-19 storm
By ROD NAIRN AM, CEO, Shipping Australia Limited
around. The early discovery of over 700 management has since been powerless infections aboard the Diamond Princess or unwilling to make any decision that in Japan in mid-February sounded the has the slightest possibility of bringing a alarm bells in Australia, one month later COVID-19 case into the State. the Ruby Princess has turned out to be Unfortunately, COVID-19 has highlighted our biggest single source of COVID-19 the “Dis-United States of Australia.” infection, with 10 per cent of all cases in Inconsistent and irreconcilable State At home in isolation Australia linked to it. restrictions started to impact on the A COVID-19-induced massive oil efciency and safety of the international We certainly live in interesting times. price slump in March has been another shipping industry even before the Ruby economic shock wave and has rocked Princess really rocked the boat. This After “the worst bushfre season in living ofshore oil and gas production industry. concern is fully explored in Viewpoint memory”, according to New South Wales Rising from the ashes amidst an oil on page 8, so I won’t expand on it here. Premier Gladys Berejiklian, then foods in glut and even negative prices, the new But trying to convince State authorities many of the afected areas, the greatest darling of shipping has become liquid to align their policies with the Federal health contagion since the Spanish Flu bulk tankers. Not for moving fuel around, Government’s clear and sensible policies pandemic 102 years ago is with us now. because the demand has dropped so for international shipping and crew The COVID-19 virus is turning our world low that no one seems to want any, but movements has taken most of Shipping upside down, with no real end in sight. for use as foating storage. According to Australia’s time since the COVID-19 Back in 1918 the Spanish Flu infected Reuters, at the end of April there were an storm broke. Unfortunately, many of the about one third of the world’s population estimated 160 million barrels of crude oil problems remain, and New South Wales, and killed an estimated 40 million people being stored at sea. VLCC charter rates Victoria and Western Australia have still before those that were left had developed have jumped by more than 300 per cent not, at the time of writing, implemented sufcient immunity to survive. COVID-19 and those wishing to move oil rather than the National Cabinet position agreed to has infected nearly fve million people store it are resorting to smaller vessels. on 9 April. A spiderweb of diferent rules and is responsible for more than 300,000 still apply, and except for Queensland, The Ruby Princess has been deaths but with a world population of there are still no clear published protocols responsible for a lot more than COVID-19 around 7.7 billion the infection rate is on how the State authorities will assist infections. It also infuenced some State only 0.06 per cent of the population. ill seafarers and deal with ships with governments to introduce unnecessary Encouragingly, the mortality rate of possible or confrmed COVID-19 cases. COVID-19 infection is relatively low, draconian restrictions on cargo ships and more than 1.8 million people have and their crews. The handling of Helping to make sense of the recovered, so the chances of developing the vessel’s arrival, clearances and confusion. To help the shipping immunity are looking pretty good. passenger discharge has been under companies, agents and overseas load the spotlight in the blame game, with ports navigate through the labyrinth of There is usually one darling in the criminal investigations and a separate COVID-19 restrictions established in shipping industry and for the past 20 special commission of inquiry. Almost Australia’s States and ports, Shipping years it has been cruise shipping, well every bureaucrat and politician with any Australia published a comprehensive COVID-19 has certainly turned that one responsibility for health, port or maritime web blog listing the chronological
2 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 Disinfecting common use areas of the ship Image: Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean, May 2020
changes to rules at the Federal and into port and have limited contact with their vessels are kept disinfected for those State (and in some instances port) levels. port maritime workers. Liner vessels visiting. In every ship there is also a This is kept up to date and available are usually in port for less than 18 hours strong sense of self-preservation amongst from our home page. As the changes and during this time the crews take crew members, who are keen to protect to regulations accumulated, even this special precautions to prevent infection. their own health. The success of these became difcult to follow, so Shipping Shipping lines are extremely careful to precautions is evidenced by the fact that Australia published a separate COVID-19 protect themselves against COVID-19; at the time of writing there is still not a section of our web site detailing the extant an infection on board would destroy the single case of a crew member of a liner or regulations which apply at the Federal and operational viability of the ship. As an bulk cargo vessel visiting Australia being State levels. example, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean found to have COVID-19. The fact is that ships’ crews are a very is keeping the business running during The ability to change crew members is unlikely source of COVID-19 infections. these challenging times by following crucial if shipping is to continue. There Ships crews are a small and isolated regulatory health compliance to ensure are around 1.2 million seafarers onboard community who only occasionally come that the people on board are safe, and 65,000 ships at sea. Normal crew work
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 3 contracts are for 11 months but because This levy was due to be in place by July Profle on page 14. of the COVID-19 restrictions in many 2019 but was fnally pronounced dead in Shipping Australia strengthened its countries, replacement crew members December 2019. Brigitte MacKenzie, the capability in February with Jim Wilson cannot join ships, and serving crew then Minister for Agriculture, said it would joining the team in a full-time policy and can’t leave. Seafarers who are forced to be replaced by a “New Biosecurity Levy” communications role. Jim brings a world stay too long at sea experience fatigue, after proper industry consultation. of experience and will certainly strengthen family distress, emotional disturbance, The Government’s decision not to mental illness and personal injury. Some the ability of Shipping Australia to proceed with the levy may well also have seafarers have been at sea continuously achieve pursuing our primary purpose of been infuenced by external factors such for 14 months, and now they can rarely promoting safe and sustainable shipping. as the impacts of summer bushfres, even have shore leave. This has seriously Jim is already well known and respected foods and COVID-19 on the budget, increased levels of stress for seafarers. in the Australian ports and shipping sector industry and the Australian people. But from his time as editor of Lloyds List Daily News that the New Biosecurity Levy it is the right decision. It means that Commercial news. You can fnd out a bit has been dumped comes as one piece Australia will continue to have strong more about Jim in our article on page 18. of welcome news amongst all this gloom. biosecurity, with the added certainty of On 20 May the Department of Agriculture the function being properly funded by the After a few years in the doldrums, the announced that the Commonwealth Federal budget. ACCC has commenced working on the Government will fund biosecurity development of a class exemption In January, Shipping Australia was adequately through budget appropriations for ocean liner shipping. This was pleased to welcome Ocean Network and existing cost recovery arrangements one of the Government endorsed Express and Hyundai Merchant Marine for the Department for Agriculture. recommendations from the Harper as full members. Ocean Network Competition Review, and if the class This outcome aligns with Shipping Express, known as ONE, is a joint venture exemption proves suitable it may Australia’s consistently stated position between former independent Japanese eventually supersede Part X of the that strong biosecurity benefts all carriers MOL, NYK and K-Line. ONE Competition and Consumer Act. A Australians and is as important to commenced operation in July 2018 and discussion paper was published last Australia’s security and economic well- has continued to grow its capability and December, and throughout January and being as national defence. Therefore, reputation ever since. ONE’s Australian February Shipping Australia coordinated biosecurity should be properly funded CEO Alex Rawley is profled on page 10. a series of consultations to prepare via national budget appropriations, with Hyundai Merchant Marine has been a a consolidated shipping industry signifcant global player in the container all Australians contributing through the submission. The Shipping Australia taxation system. Shipping Australia led market for years and is now focussing submission is available on our website. broad industry opposition to the original on ramping up its Australian operations. biosecurity levy when it was announced in Head of Australian operations, Len The price of pandemic. It is no secret the Federal Budget 2018, two years ago. Phillips, is the subject of our second that shipping lines are experiencing a
Svitzer Australia @Svitzerau Svitzer.com.au
Your partner in making Australian ports and terminals safer and more efficient
MAKING MARINE OPERATIONS SAFER AND MORE EFFICIENT, EVERY TIME, EVERYWHERE.
4 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 severe cash fow squeeze. Ships have Brisbane who confrmed that they will the politicians will realise that sometimes been forced to change port rotations, defer their normal annual increases for freight does vote? terminal windows, and vessel speeds 12 months. There is still some hope for Our recovery from the COVID-19 to comply with Government and port further relief as some private and State- economic crisis will be driven by authority restrictions. That all comes at owned port operators have indicated that signifcant accelerated investment in a cost. A 14-day stay-away period for they are still considering their positions. infrastructure. Infrastructure Australia’s some ports has forced several shipping If we were able to issue a red card announcement of the priority project lines to delay ships for days, at a cost for unreasonable increases in this status assigned to the Port Botany of around $25,000 a day. Adding to Rail Line Duplication Project is certainly that, a general decline in volumes has period it would have to go to Port welcome news. Planned works will led to sailings being blanked. Shipping of Newcastle for their new navigation include the building of kilometres of lines are incurring additional costs to service charge implementation. Thirty- new track along with realignment and deliver cargo. This is an unsustainable three per cent does seem well above the upgrading of the existing track. The burden on shipping lines that could lead “reasonable” level. Though to be fair, works will better connect Port Botany to to a reduction of shipping services to they did announce their increase back the rail freight network and will increase Australia. The shipping industry globally in December. They also agreed to defer freight capacity. One thing needs to be is looking at all options for cost saving. its commencement by three months to emphasised - careful planning is required As an example, some ships are bypassing allow ship owners and agents to consider to avoid operational service disruptions the Suez Canal and taking the long way taking up an alternative ofer of a locked- and additional costs to shipping lines. around Africa. Even with the eight days in four per cent per year increase for extra steaming, saving can be made the next 10 years, regardless of what Roadworks are not normally a hot topic despite recent discount rates for the Suez happens to CPI. It does seem like a bit for the shipping industry, but when it Canal fees, though there are no such of a ‘gun to the head’ negotiation, and comes to servicing access in and around options for savings for ships visiting ports a real windfall to the port as CPI is likely the port of Botany then priorities are in Australia. Each port is realistically a to go south for a while. But Port of bound to change. Shipping Australia geographic monopoly and there are few Newcastle is a private monopoly port and continues to support a coalition of efective price controls in place. can do what they like. Shipping Australia industry associations lobbying the New sees this sort of outcome as a failure South Wales Government to reinstate The Port of Melbourne is one example of the New South Wales Government’s the Sydney Gateway on and of ramps of where efective pricing control privatisation process, which created a at Canal Road, St Peters. These measures were put in place during monopoly corporate owner of the port ramps were in the initial design of the the privatisation process. The port and the channels without any form of Sydney Gateway but were removed by pricing order stipulated the limitations price regulation. the State Government as a cost saving on increases to prescribed services measure. Without these ramps the and allows for the recovery of prudent If there is one good thing to come from Cooks River intermodal terminal will be investment costs once the initial price the COVID-19 crisis it has been the isolated by gridlocked truck trafc through increase limits expire. Well that is the greater public visibility of the importance the suburban streets of Mascot. The theory, but in January, despite objections of freight that it has awoken. Yes, when residents will not be happy either. We call supermarket shelves begin to empty from Shipping Australia, we saw the upon the New South Wales Government as panic buying and hoarding hysteria Victorian State Government amend the to reinstate the ramps and keep freight grows, even confrmed landlubbers and pricing order to approve an additional moving. tarif of $9.75 per TEU on full import not-in-my-backyarders start to ask why. containers from 1 June 2020. This And the answer is… freight must be This year marks the 100th anniversary of increase is to pay for a $125 million given priority. Sea-freight provides our the Australian Hydrographic Service. port rail project that does not yield any basic needs and lifestyle wants, and land- Twenty years after Federation as the benefts until 2024 and doesn’t include freight brings it to our door. Perhaps even strains of the frst world war had limited services to Webb Dock. Shipping Australia is strongly in favour of on-dock rail development but the whole payment regime has been turned on its head. Customers are comfortable with the user pays principle, but I don’t recall having to pay for toll roads before you can drive on them. The people and companies who are being asked to pay now may not even be around to see the results of what they are paying for. In mid-March 2020, Shipping Australia wrote to 30 ports and related service providers and requested they consider a temporary fee-reduction or at least defer any fee increases planned for July. The overall response has been disappointing but there are some pleasing exceptions. Shipping Australia acknowledges the support of Port Phillip Sea Pilots who are ofering a 10 per cent discount during the current health crisis and challenging economic conditions. Another positive Australian Hydrographic Service Laser airborne depth sounder F27 over fies response was received from the Port of HMAS Moresby (II) with survey motor boat in company Image: Department of Defence
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 5 heritage listed sandstone headquarters at 5-11 Bridge Street Sydney. Our social pages are necessarily a bit skint in this edition but on 4 March, before the lockdown, Shipping Australia was fortunate to be able to hold our NSW Shipping Industry Golf Day at the Coast Course, Little Bay. With torrential rain in the morning there was some doubt about the event, but the sun broke through before lunch, the picturesque Coast Course drained quickly, and all went to plan for a fantastic afternoon. In a close fought competition, the team from Qube took the honours; see the write up and photos in the centre pages. Finally, I would like to draw your attention to a letter to the editor Burns Philp ship MV Malabar runs aground at Malabar – the suburb named printed on the last page of this after the ship (wreck) Image: Sydney Heritage Fleet magazine. Perry Sutton, of Torres Pilots, has made some forceful the ability of the British Admiralty to Islands, and serving up economic comments and observations about the allocate ships to the task, the Royal support and Australian infuence ‘Future of Power’ article in our Spring/ Australian Navy founded its own throughout the region. At its peak in Summer edition. Clearly there is plenty hydrographic service on 1 October the 1950’s, Burns Philp operated 60 more to say on where Australia and 1920. We mark this historic event vessels and a network of company the world should and will chose to go with a short history of the Australian stores across Australia, Papua New to keep the lights on and the engines Hydrographic Service on page 22. Guinea, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, turning. June this year is also the 50th Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands, Kiribati If you wish to add your point of anniversary of the sale of the last and Tuvalu, Fiji and Samoa. The China view, or disagree with something Burns Philp Australian crewed vessel Navigation Company made inroads into in this magazine and want to have the MV Moresby ending a rich chapter the Australia/New Guinea trade with its your say, please write to feedback@ in Australia’s maritime history. From New Guinea Line in 1952. Burns Philp shippingaustralia.com.au . No matter 1885, the company’s ships had been leaves a legacy of historic buildings your point of view, we would like to servicing Australia and the Pacifc throughout the Pacifc, including its hear from you.
6 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 7 The “Dis-United States VIEWPOINTof Australia” By ROD NAIRN
The media is having a bit of fun pitting from China and South Korea since, these Ship arrival restrictions have a State against State and Premier against restrictions remain in place. Maritime signifcant impact on shipping Premier over COVID-19 border closure Safety Queensland also imposed 14-day Liner shipping works on tight schedules restrictions that might impact on restrictions on arrivals from China and and even tighter proft margins. Due to someone’s holiday plans. That might be South Korea, as did Tasmania and some the stay-away restrictions, some shipping a bit of fun but the underlying problem of ports in Western Australia and Northern services had to change their port rotations States independently acting in their own Territory. The confusion for international to avoid expensive waiting time. Some narrow-focussed self-interest is bad for vessels was further exacerbated by some amended their ports of call and negotiated Australia’s international reputation, and individual ports and terminals imposing new stevedore windows, yet others found bad for Australia. How can the States be additional “stay-away” limitations. that they had to routinely blank sailings in brought into line on matters that afect the order to delay a week and remain on- national interest? Perhaps it is time for a Increasing restrictions is so easy, but window. The additional costs of these bit of Constitutional change? there is not much appetite for removing them actions have added to the challenges of I’m not the only one to think so. At the keeping international shipping services Council of Australian Government meeting Within a week of the Prime Minister’s operating. Bulk shipping is also impacted, on 13 March the Prime Minister, premiers announcement, the Australian Border and while they are more accustomed and territory leaders decided to form a new Force clarifed that the national policy to queuing to await berth availability, National Cabinet in an attempt to deliver allowed all international vessels to berth extending this waiting time unnecessarily is a consistent national response to the and be worked on arrival, whilst the crew a cost penalty that neither the ship owner COVID-19 emergency. It was an attempt, was required to wear personal protective nor charterer should have to bear. but perhaps too little too late? equipment or remain isolated until 14 days The situation for maritime crew had expired. This policy was blatantly International maritime trade was disrupted movement is even more farcical ignored by some State authorities and has by inconsistent and irreconcilable State still not been uniformly applied more than The Federal Government rules confrmed restrictions even before the Ruby Princess on 16 March, allowed crew from ships to really rocked the boat. Within three three months later. go ashore after they had served their 14- days of the Prime Minister’s 1 February Again, when the Prime Minister extended day isolation since their last overseas port, announcement of international travel travel restrictions to all nations from 15 and to transit through Australian airports restrictions on passengers from China and March, Queensland immediately extended at any time using PPE. Maritime crew South Korea, various maritime authorities the 14 day stay-away to vessels from all arriving by air are exempted from 14-day around our diverse country started to put ports (which they quickly rescinded for isolation periods and can travel directly to in place restrictions on international cargo Brisbane under threat of isolation) and their ship. But some State governments vessels arriving in Australia. Australia’s States independently placed didn’t allow crew members ashore at all Port Authority of New South Wales uncoordinated restrictions and quarantine and forced crew arriving by air into hotel announced that they would not provide requirements on crew members’ isolation. A maritime crew from Western pilots for vessels from China or South movements. These actions threatened Australia delivered a tug to Singapore, Korea until the vessel had been at sea the very continuation of international then disembarked and spent 14 days in for 14 days. They later changed this trade, created uncertainty, negatively isolation there, then 14 days quarantined in defnition to 14 calendar days meaning that impacted on essential activities for safe Sydney, then 14 days quarantined in Perth, some vessels had to wait almost 15 days. ship operations, and efectively made crew before being able to travel home. Who can Despite a complete reversal of risk profles changes impossible. make sense of that?
Disclaimer: Readers are advised that Shipping Australia Limited and the Publisher cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of statements made in advertising and editorial, nor the quality of the goods or services advertised. Opinions expressed throughout the publication are the contributors own and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of Shipping Australia Limited or the Publisher. While every reasonable effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, the Publisher takes no responsibility for those relying on the information. The Authors, Publisher and Shipping Australia Limited disclaim all responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by readers or third parties in connection with the information contained in this publication. Nothing in this publication should be construed as personal or professional advice and should be read as general information only. Warranty and Indemnity: ADVERTISERS and/or advertising agencies upon and by lodging material with the Publisher for publication or authorising or approving of the publication of any material indemnify Shipping Australia, the Publisher, its servants and agents, against all liability claims or proceedings whatsoever arising from the publication and without limiting the generality of the foregoing to indemnify each of them in relation to defamation, slander of title, breach of copyright, infringement of trademarks or names of publication titles, unfair competition or trade practices, royalties or violation of rights or privacy regulations and that its publication will not give rise to any rights against or liabilities in the Publisher, its servants or agents and in particular, that nothing therein is capable of being misleading or deceptive or otherwise in breach of Part V of the Competition and Consumer Act, 2010 (Cth).
8 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 From overseas Australia looks like a one saving grace. This meeting aims to agreed documentation. National Cabinet joke bring together all the heads of Federal and also confrmed agreement that cargo State transport authorities, along with their vessels would be permitted to berth and When the Federal Government announces departments of health, transport, industry be worked on arrival. Australia’s international travel policies, associations, ports and unions. It has South Australia was already efectively and based on those policies, ships and been enlightening to hear the problems compliant. The Northern Territory and crew members arrive here to go about being caused by uncoordinated State Tasmania comprehensively updated their business, they do not expect to regulations and to see something done their exemptions, as did Queensland be confounded by additional State about it. regulations. One crew member arrived at after a careful risk review process and Sydney expecting to travel by private car A second highlight has been the adopting IMO recommended crew change and join his ship three kilometres away cooperation and willingness shown by all protocols. Of concern though, six weeks VIEWPOINT participants in this group to fx problems. after the decision, changes have still not that day (at no risk to the public) only to be bundled into a bus with forty other arrivals This committee has been vital in achieving been implemented in New South Wales and interned in a Sydney hotel for two the outcome of keeping freight fowing, and Victoria, where most international weeks. He was then allowed to fy home, which in turn has been vital to the fights currently arrive, or in Western his ship having sailed, and the crewman success of Australia’s initial response to Australia, where there is a substantial he was due to replace retained on board the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this demand for crew changes. The ability to past the end of his contract. Many ships group, the urgency of coordinating State change crew members is crucial if shipping arrived at Queensland and Western regulations to enable safe and efcient is to continue. freight movements was addressed. Australian ports to be told to stand of until The States of Australia have every right Opening truck stops and permitting trucks 14 days had passed. Overseas shippers to prioritise the health and safety of their and trains across State borders was have contacted Shipping Australia to seek people, but they should also be bound resolved, and consistent rules for working advice and we have been able to advise on to act in the national interest. States do international shipping allowing crew the order to call at ports to minimise delays not have the right to override Federal changes to occur was identifed and the or which State to fy into to conduct a crew Government on international policy matter elevated to National Cabinet. change. But the situation is laughable. and one would think that movement of maritime crews and the maintenance of One shining light I thought this seemingly intractable problem was solved on 9 April when the unimpeded international trade falls into In this labyrinth of uncoordinated Federal National Cabinet agreed to implement a this category. One can only hope that the and State regulation, the regular Maritime consistent and immediate exemption for National Cabinet grows into an organ that Transport COVID-19 teleconference hosted non-cruise maritime crew to provide for truly coordinates the policies of the States by the Secretary of the Department of the transiting to and from their places of and allows Australia to function as one Infrastructure, Simon Atkinson, has been work, within and across jurisdictions with nation.
RG Tanna Coal Terminal - Celebrating 40 years of partnering with the shipping industry to support Central Queensland’s vital exports.
gpcl.com.au
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 9 PROFILE
ALEX RAWLEY, director, Ocean Network Express
A joyful life in shipping
By JIM WILSON
Shipping Australia is pleased to welcome global liner shipping company Alex was seconded to a committee Ocean Network Express (ONE), as a new member. Jim Wilson caught to set up ONE at the end of 2017. Ofces had to be found, staf had to up with ONE’s Alex Rawley. be hired and infrastructure set-up. “We’re doing very well,” says Alex recalls, adding, “I’d always said that “It was hectic setting things up. But Rawley, country manager of Ocean the three Japanese lines would never not as hectic as it was to become,” Network Express. “We’re strong. And come together, and that’s why I never Alex recalls, referring to a variety of we want to get stronger. We want to make bets!” teething troubles, subsequent work- grow in Australia.” arounds and long hours. After the email shocker from Japan, In October 2016 Nippon Yusen “nothing seemed to happen” for a “But I enjoyed it. You learn to deal Kaisha, Mitsui OSK Lines and K-Line, while. with things. I’ve become a calmer told the world they would create a person than before. It’s easy to throw But that was a prelude to the sheer liner shipping joint venture - ONE. your toys out of the pram but then hard bloody work and grind that it you’re still stuck with the problem,” The container staf of the three took to create ONE and get it up and he says. Japanese companies were told by running. email at about 2pm one afternoon ONE is still changing. “It was very ‘character building’. in October 2016 that they would be It was an interesting experience,” combining into a new company, with “I can’t believe we’ve been doing this Alex says with a wry smile. “It was for two years. We’re not the company start date April 2018. great training… although I wouldn’t we were a year ago, and we won’t “We were all surprised,” Rawley recommend it to anybody!” be the same company a year from now. We’ve got such goodwill from our staf, the shippers, ports and stevedores,” he says. A life in shipping Shipping has been Alex’s working life. Although he didn’t have a family background in the maritime industries – his dad was a copper – Alex grew up a short distance from the waterfront at Tilbury Docks, in London, England. This was before the International Ship and Port Security Code fenced of ports and shipping forever. “It was the mid-70s. The docks were chock-a-block with ships and there were loads of people milling about,” Alex says. But even though he could see the ships, getting into the shipping industry in mid-1970s England wasn’t easy. Trade unions were militant and powerful, and that resulted in the
10 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 closed shop, so it was difcult to get into And that irritated Alex. khaki shirt. All that he was missing was shipping directly, without connections. the Pith Helmet! They were very had “I just do what I do. If I see a perceived working and they would help you too,” injustice, not just against me, it irks me. “It had to be a father-son relationship, he recalls. that, or some other close relative,” Alex I just wanted to do the best I could,” he says. says. Unfortunately, the good times could not, and did not, last, the visa had lapsed. Australian adventure Ship agency wasn’t subject to quite Alex and his girlfriend had to go back the same restrictions. An advert in the At the time, Alex’s sister was living with to the UK and move back in with their paper looked interesting to Alex because her then boyfriend in Melbourne. She parents. They were working hard but not it had “something to do with ships”. It wrote to Alex regularly about going to the getting ahead. It was the early 1980s in was a ships’ husbandry job. That was beach and living the Aussie life. Margaret Thatcher’s Britain. It was not a followed by a promotion into sales. Most “And there I was in the UK dreading happy place. “You think there must be of the business was done in a smoky the arrival of the gas bill. So, my then something better. And, having been to pub, especially by the main exporters girlfriend and I thought we’d give Australia, I knew there was,” he says. who would hold court on the Friday, for Australia a go,” he says. So, they quickly decided to emigrate the next week’s cargo. Deals were done They jumped on a plane and landed to Australia, even if it did mean saying over a pint and with a shake of the hand. in sunny Melbourne on a year-long goodbye to his beloved “Gunners” “Back then you were dealing with big, working-holiday visa. Alex immediately (Arsenal) Premier League soccer team powerful, people. You learned respect. got a job for nine-months with Union . Then, one happy day, the ofcial letter arrived accepting Alex for emigration. You learned that you always had to Bulkship’s Melbourne, that was followed tell the truth. Your word is your bond. by three months travelling up and down “I was elated! I was back! Excited and Clichéd, but true. If you didn’t, you’d the east coast of Australia. feeling a little trepidation. I didn’t have a simply never get in to see them again,” “I remember how diferent Australia job in Australia and I’d never really been he says. was to London. It seemed very friendly. out of work.” There was a certain Aussie way, like 1970s England was rife with class- He needn’t have worried. Upon arrival, they’d known you for 50 years. They got snobbery and the Old Boys’ Network. he was lucky enough to be ofered a you to join in and be part of the group. job doing ship’s planning with Union Alex recalls that certain people from No airs and graces about it. It was easy Bulkships. particular backgrounds tended to get to make and keep friends. Even the way the opportunities more often than they dressed in the ofce was diferent. That was followed by a sales role. Ships people who did not come from such I can still this one older fella… he wore were full of machinery and steel, food backgrounds. long white socks, shorts and a brown stufs and beer. And even little half-
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 11 high containers full of bins with live views are more listened to. With “Mark Austin and I, who was another fsh from Tasmania! It was a busy, decision-making, you were part of the director, made a good team. He vibrant, time. team. You were responsible. If there was steady and sensible. I was the were losses, why? Then you’d get giddier of the two, always wanting “I learned a lot. How business the phone call from the boss. One worked. How to manage people, and to push things and take new week, the boss queried me over an I took to it. I always thought that you opportunities. Both of us were increase in the use of printing paper! should talk to people how you want unlikely in our roles but we got the to be talked to,” he says. Why would you ring someone up and work done. We grew our business. ask that question? That’s real old- By the 1990s, Union Bulkships had school. Perhaps I’ve turned into it, I Work carried on as normal until that become agents for Mitsui OSK Lines don’t know,” he laughs. fateful day in October 2016, which and Djakarta Lloyd. He travelled is when the creation of the ONE joint around Asia, to Hong Kong and South By 2000, Alex was looking for a bit of venture was announced. Alex enjoyed Korea, among other places. From a change and he was asked to move the new challenge as was appointed travels and work, Alex was exposed from Melbourne to the Harbour City, country manager in 2018. to diferent ways of thinking and so he hopped on a plane to go and Looking back on a life in shipping acting. live in Sydney. He was a trade lane manager for South East Asia. It was Looking back over his long career, “Not the UK way. Not the Aussie way. a heady time as the Sydney Olympics Alex refects on a life in shipping. But other countries’ ways. It was all were on. The Australian trade an eye-opener. Diferent cultures. I lanes were becoming much more “I still enjoy shipping, even today tried to immerse myself. I realised competitive than previously, owing - every day is diferent.” Alex tells we’re all the same. Work was fun . I to the arrival of the Chinese shipping Shipping Australia. got to see the sights and meet lots of lines. people”. And what he’s enjoyed most is “Rates dropped dramatically, and dealing with people. Growing in seniority they haven’t gone back up again. In “It’s the joy of dealing with people. hindsight, we were all doing what By 1995, he was managing the They’re interesting and fun. The vast we’d done for the last 20 years,” he Melbourne ofce for MOL. The majority of people have been great. said. experience expanded his career and Shipping is a great industry. If you he was responsible for proft and In 2007, Alex became a director at can get into it, get into it. Be nice to loss, branch administration and for MOL Australia, which led to a big people. And stay calm. And see the managing people. increase in responsibilities. It also led humour in everything,” he says with a “As you become more senior, your to some solid working relationships. smile.
12 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 A friend in the business. Hamburg Süd.
This is a special message to all our customers – present, and future. In challenging times like this, we can all do with a bit of friendly help. If you’re in a tight spot or need to back up a little. If you need to nudge things into a better position moving forward. Now more than ever you can look to us for good advice and strong service support. Safe hands… Hamburg Süd.
No matter what.
www.hamburgsud-line.com Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 13 PROFILE
LEN PHILLIPS, general manager, Hyundai Merchant Marine (Australia) Dinosaurs, cavemen, trucks, ships, and spacecraft – the broad life of Len Phillips
By JIM WILSON
Len Phillips is the general manager at Hyundai Merchant Marine (Australia), which is one of Shipping Australia’s newer members.
Len explains that HMM is in the process was a massive recession underway and “Goodness! My biggest mistakes involved of establishing itself in the marketplace in world economies were sufering rampant not understanding the power of politics terms of customers, suppliers and within infation. Here, in Australia, then Prime in a large company. I made some errors the industry itself. “We’ve been working on Minister Bob Hawke had either just, or was by not understanding how facts, which that for the last couple of years. Ultimately, about to, introduce the Prices and Incomes could be correct, might make me look we’re running ships proftably,” Len says. Accord. There weren’t a lot of jobs, so Len bad. I also once gave a quote for a very He adds that HMM is taking on 20 new took a job driving a truck with TG Manning. large company. I was told that it was large vessels and is joining The Alliance. “Truck driving was a very diferent world,” correct. But everyone quickly knew that The company is looking for growth in the Len laughs, adding, “that’s exactly the point we’d undercut. For me personally, I got a Australian market. “What we want to be my boss made during my job interview. He rap across the knuckles. A gentleman by is a ‘full operator’ – at the moment we do didn’t want to employ me because of my the name of Mike went and fxed it with North East Asia, Korea and the Chinese education”. the conference partners. I appreciated the ports. Our ambition is to cover southeast management support though, and it made Asia, New Zealand, the USA, everywhere. Luckily, Len comes from a long line of truck me more diligent,” Len explains. That’s the ambition,” he says. drivers. “Everyone plays a part. Everyone has their role. So I went out and did the Later he took his frst line management Len took over HMM (Australia) in June job. I was like a sponge and I soaked role and it wasn’t the easiest experience. Some of the other staf thought they should 2018. He says that when he took over up information about customs clearance the job, he was “happy, excited! It was have had the role and did not behave and freight,” he says. His manager at a brand-new blank slate, and they were as professionally as they might. They the time thought Len was too highly ready to go out and make a statement in engaged in tactics such as reporting to educated though and encouraged him the industry. There are some really great Len’s boss rather than him, not flling in or to apply for the graduate programme at people here who will have a great future in fling paperwork, not attending meetings Australian National Line. It was a two-year the industry. They will have opportunities and so on. programme that started their grads in the to expand their horizons”. mail room. “So I had to grow. I did some management Going back a real… long… way courses. As a very green person, I didn’t Ignorant… and stunned manage it optimally. As an older, more Len started of his career being fascinated, experienced person, I have developed more no not with ships, but with dinosaurs “I didn’t know very much about shipping strategies that I can use. I also learned and cavemen. He explains that he was at all. I was a little bit stunned. I thought, that you can’t please everyone all the time. always interested in pre-history and history. ‘how hard can it be?’ But going through I also learned to research decisions and There’s an old saying that we are “standing the various departments, I realised there to stick to them,” Len refects. It’s sound on the shoulders of giants,” Len says, was a lot more to it than I thought”. advice for any-frst time manager. adding that we are, all of us, a product of Len was taken under the wing of Shipping what has come before. “I’ve always felt a Australia’s very own Frank Needs. “He Persistence wins the day connection to history – everything that we really helped me out. I was in sales and I There were big wins too. Len recalls a have done as a species and as a society was struggling. Frank really helped me out. supermarket, Franklins, which was a heavy is built on everything that has been done I have very fond memories of my time at discounter, that was owned by the shipping before, it’s a continuum,” he explains. ANL,” he says. agency, Jardine, via an intermediary So he went to university and studied Pre- company. For about a decade, the With great struggling sometimes comes History and Anthropology, where he met company refused to ship with ANL. great mistakes. Len had some… character- Yvonne, now his wife of 35 years. building learning experiences … and he Len formulated a plan and set out to Unfortunately, when he left university, there recalls one particular stuf-up with a groan. deliver. It took 18 months just to get the
14 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 Len Phillips: like the lifting gear, so they had to re- Automation was already well underway, and engineer the cranes. They even barged it had already been done at Brisbane. Port the shuttle some of the way. It ended up in Botany was next. There were many issues a life Pyrmont, Sydney, were it was an exhibit for and discussions – union, legal, workplace Hobbies the Powerhouse Museum. “I got a much safety among the forefront. Len’s role was Len likes to play and write music, deeper understanding of supply chains. If to make sure all the sub-contracts were in particularly 70s and 80s music - it could go wrong, it did. It really told me place for when they shut down the terminal. guitar and bass. He’s also played a what a supply chain really is,” he says. “It was an all-or-nothing move. We crossed bit of sax, along with keyboard and From space shuttles to grocery trades our fngers. We threw the switch. And it all drums. His musical infuences are came online. Thank God,” Len laughs. “hair bands,” he laughs, like Bruce Later in his career, Len found himself Springsteen, Van Halen, Neil Young working as the Oceania Reefer and Pacifc Then Brookfeld, an asset management and Bob Dylan. “Not so much The Islands Trade Manager for Maersk. It was consortium, threw down a huge bid to Beatles, although I know a lot of a very diferent trade. A ffty-TEU contract buy Patrick. Ports and logistics giant people think that’s sacrilege!”. was a good contract. It was a small trade, Qube chucked in a huge counter-bid. The with lots of family involvement. “You had to bidding war was on. Bids were changed, Family understand that to be successful. The guy ofers were put together and, fnally, months Len has been married to Yvonne for who imports rice will be the brother of the later, a deal was done. Patrick, or, rather, 35 years and they met at university, stevedore, that kind of thing. You have to the parent company, Asciano, accepted a “believe it or not in Pre-History and understand that shipping is their lifeblood. very complex $9 billion takeover deal in a Anthropology”. He has two adult They really need it to survive,” Len explains. children. Isabelle (30), who works joint Brookfeld-Qube bid. in mining as a lead geologist for The Pacifc trades have changed now “My job had slowed down because of the Rio Tinto and son Edward (27), and are more internationalised, but Len is takeover; everything had to be run through who works for software company quick to point out that it is still a grocery layers of management committees and the Atlassian. “He explains to me what trade, with continuing demands to move bidders had to be kept informed. Toward he does, but I have no idea! He’s equipment around, and lots of seasonal the end, virtually all the other managers had basically a computer programmer,” cargoes such as fsh. gone. And I decided to move on. That’s Len says. “I really enjoyed the camaraderie that the corporate life,” Len says. Pacifc Islands agents have. They are Looking for a new role, a friend advised Len hugely passionate about their industry and that there was a shipping line looking for a frst appointment. delivering what they say they are going general manager. That line was, of course, to deliver. It is a joy to manage. They are “The Franklins guy told me, ‘My God, HMM. you’re the most persistent representative out fghting the good fght and they are I’ve ever seen! Normally, I tell them to extremely loyal,” Len enthuses. Len’s had a long and varied career in the bugger of and they’re gone! But you’re After Pacifc Islands there was a short stint shipping industry. He takes a moment back every fortnight!’ I remember when we with a little-known Australian stevedore. It to refect on his experiences. “I really got the frst cargo for Franklins. I sent a went by the name of Patrick. appreciate the shipping industry. The life telex to the HK ofce and I copied in Frank I live is because of shipping. It has given Needs. He came storming into my ofce Automation and a massive takeover me a great life, broad exposure to diferent and said, ‘we’ve been trying for years. Are Patrick was very much “corporate cultures and to raise my family. You can you sure?’. I showed him the telexes and Australia”. Len thought it was a kin- make a very good career in shipping he was very happy,” Len says. industry to shipping but he quickly realised if you stick with it. It’s not a monetary there wasn’t as much in common between thing. It’s not about extra pay. It’s about He had many more good years with ANL. stevedores and shipping in workforce quality of life. It’s the people I’ve met. By the early 1990s, the Government was management, key performance indicators The memories. And understanding how keen to sell ANL and there were multiple and driving forces. “I can tell you I was not other people view the world. The shipping rounds of restructuring. Then an intriguing bored!”, he says. industry ofers so much.” ofer was made by Cho Yang, a Korean shipping company. They set up a job inside Barwil/ Wilhelmsens, and it was a fun period in Len’s career, working with good people. “I really enjoyed the whole set-up of the thing”. He later became the New South Wales manager for Wilhelmsen, with a stint as the non-containerised cargo manager. That’s anything that didn’t include wheels, such as forestry products and heavy break bulk cargo. And one Soviet-era Russian space shuttle, the “Buran”. It was 20 per cent heavier than the US space shuttle, so heavy, in fact, it couldn’t be fown with a crew. Although it did a few orbits unmanned. Len’s crew had to get it up the Moscow River before it froze, then they disassembled it on the main deck, brought it through Panama. When it got to Sydney, the Waterside Workers’ Federation didn’t
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 15 INTRODUCING
JIM WILSON, policy and communications ofcer, Shipping Australia Limited The new kid on the SAL team is not a new kid to the shipping industry
By A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Former editor of Lloyd’s List Daily Commercial News and experienced shipping journalist, Jim likes the idea of moving into a role where he can see the industry from an inside perspective and might even be able to infuence shipping policy rather than just reporting on it.
“I like to read and research”, he says. Now I can understand why, who wouldn’t want a bit of quiet time after that? Jim’s father was a postman and handyman and spent a lot of his time reading. Jim reckons he missed the handyman bit but really caught the reading bug. Don’t ask him to hammer in a nail. Logically his love of books headed him into a law degree, but it didn’t turn out to be his long- term career choice. Looking at the jobs on ofer in law he could see the risk of falling into something safe, mundane and repetitive, so he went looking for something a bit diferent. He likes the idea of travel and picked up the frst position he applied for in providing venture capital-related information. It had elements of journalism in it, but it wasn’t real journalism. This job took him to London and away from the family, but he got used to it. In fact, it seems that just about every job has taken him further and further away. “Thank God for the telephone”, he used to call home and talk to Mum a fair bit and often made the three-hour train trip home. In the London fnance sector, he rubbed Not that he regrets one minute of his time children, most of them still living around shoulders with a few shipping fnanciers as a journalist. Jim’s hometown of Liverpool, UK, there and took an interest in the industry. This led him to a position at Fairplay was always someone to talk to. Jim “I’ve travelled a lot and seen places I International Shipping Weekly. Jim says wouldn’t have seen, met people I wouldn’t grew up through a never-ending round this was his frst real journalist job and have met”, Jim smiles. of christenings, funerals, weddings, and where he learnt a lot from senior journalists general family get-togethers. Patrick Neylan (editor) and naval architect Yes, he is a people person, he is always Paul Gunton. ready for a light chat or an in-depth conversation and has an opinion on just “If you want to invite the family Contributing to a daily newsletter and a about everything. around for a cup of tea, then you weekly magazine was relentless but the role also fed his travel desire, gaining a few And he’s had plenty of practice. With four have to hire a hall”, he chuckles, more stamps in his passport while covering sisters, and his mother being one of 10 but I think he is serious. international shipping.
16 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 INSTANT PRICING AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
Booking has never been easier with MyPrices – simply login to your e-Business account, enter the POL, POD, required departure date and type of equipment. With a single click, you will fnd your existing offer or receive an instant quote. From here, you can place a booking directly – just like that!
Login and book today!
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 17 Perhaps not enough though. from the coast.” An anti-piracy defence lot about oil and gas and bunker trading, coalition also presented new opportunities. “it was Singapore after all” and of course, So, after a few years in London, he moved there was plenty of regional travel. further from home to take up a once-in- “I was lucky enough to spend a few a-lifetime ofer for a new position in the days in HMCS Calgary and while I was Then came a phone call from someone Middle East setting up a new regional law aboard, we got a mayday from the Bunga who knew someone who knew something magazine. This change ticked a trifecta Melati Dua, a Malaysian chemical tanker, about LLDCN looking for a new editor. of boxes: travel desire - tick, scratched an that was being attacked by pirates. And Jim made the jump to Australia. Unfortunately, we were not able to interdict itch to use his law degree - tick, and a new Well, you can’t get much further from as we were hundreds of nautical miles challenge - tick. But it was fnite and when home, so Australia could be the end of the away and the whole attack only took 10 the magazine launched, Jim was free. road for Jim. Although there is a rumour minutes.” that he is trying to circumnavigate the Remaining in Dubai, Jim was re- While based in Dubai, Jim was able to turn world on the budget of small publishers, employed by Fairplay as their Middle East his interest in photography into part of his it does looks like he’s settled down. He’s correspondent. This presented some profession. He was inspired to study the had three jobs here, taken up Australian unique opportunities for Jim as he was the art after lining up the perfect shot of an old citizenship, married and he seems to like only maritime journalist there, and it was man with a very sun-wrinkled face who the place. an exciting time. was wearing the traditional headdress, the “It’ll do for now”, he smiles. “The nearest competitors were in Cairo kefyeh. He thought it would be a prize- and Istanbul, and the earlier formation of winning photo, but it turned out blurred. When he’s not reading or researching, you’ll probably fnd Jim, camera in hand, the Gulf Cooperation Council had kicked He can still see the old man’s taking a walk in the park or the bush or of a boom in trade. face. “It was really frustrating, and just having a beer and a chinwag with “This was an amazing time for the it motivated me to learn about friends at the pub. expansion of ports and the building of new photography,” Jim recalls. Thinking back to his frst job in shipping, ones,” Jim says. Jim remembers a conversation with former He also kept his travel dreams sated with tanker sailor and industry consultant, It also coincided with a boom in piracy extensive travelling and reporting across Fred Doll. “Fred told me that ‘shipping around the Horn of Africa. The modus the region, including places like Iran and had a way of getting into your blood’, I operandi of the Somali pirates had Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. changed. didn’t think much of it at the time but here Jim’s next move, getting further from I am 20 years later working for Shipping “Pirates were massively successful. They home, was to Singapore as the Asia Australia. I guess he must have been were attacking vessels at over 600 miles Pacifc editor for Fairplay. He reported a right.”
Chain of Responsibility Online Training by Shipping Australia
The Chain of Responsibility (CoR) requires that anyone who has control over the transport task must ensure their actions, inaction or demands do not contribute to breaches of Heavy Vehicle National Law. This course provides everyone in the transport supply chain with a clear SAL Online Training Courses understanding of their responsibilities under CoR and the actions they may Introduction toto ShippingShipping take to ensure breaches in heavy vehicle mass, dimension, loading, speed Members:Members $200$200 Non Non members members: $300 $300 and driver fatigue laws do not occur. Fundamentals ofof thethe MaritimeShipping Animated scenarios, case studies and interactive activities explain how the Industry laws apply in practice and a dynamic and responsive training interface means Members:Members $200$500 Non Non members members: $250 $600 the training content is adaptable to your needs and usable across desktop Reefer Cargo Handling and mobile devices. MembersMembers: $50$100 Non Non members members: $150 $200 SAL Members: $115 Non members: $135 All prices include GST
BookBook onlineonline atat www.shippingaustralia.com.auwww.shippingaustralia.com.au oror phonephone 02(02) 9266 9167 9905 5838
18 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 19 WOMEN IN SHIPPING SACHI WIMMER, deputy chief executive ofcer, Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Well credentialled and highly motivated… what can’t AMSA’s new deputy do?
By JIM WILSON
Marine maritime scientist, transport security expert, fsheries expert and, now, an executive manager and regulator in the commercial maritime sector. Does Sachi Wimmer have salt-water fowing through her veins?
Sachi Wimmer was earlier this year space, the marine maritime environment some more advocacy bodies. But she appointed as the deputy chief executive and maritime issues more broadly,” she wanted to have real infuence, which she ofcer of the Australian Maritime Safety explains. realised meant working in Government Authority. itself. A Master of Legal Studies in Sachi is very familiar with the maritime Environment Law followed. “Government is Sachi explains the attraction of AMSA. world – she’s been involved with it in many all about legislation,” Sachi comments. “I’ve done a fair bit of work in the diferent guises – everything from marine compliance space. I’ve worked with AMSA scientist, tour guide and security expert, By the end of her law degree, Sachi in the past, from the outside, and it always among others. was working in a government role for struck me as a really mature, competent, the International Section of the then regulator. I really like the regulatory Her undergraduate degree from the University of Sydney was in marine biology, Department of Environment and Heritage. with a focus on marine botany. “It was my frst major job. Also, I was very focused on environmental issues. It ftted “Even as a little kid I always said that I with where I thought my career would go. wanted to be a scientist but I’m not sure I It’s big global issues and concepts, and even knew what that was,” she laughs. “I it was very slow. It was a great learning was inspired by David Attenborough and experience, but, I thought, it’s probably not the naturalist Gerald Durrell. I’ve always the right job ft for me. I’m probably not been inquisitive and curious, so science patient enough,” she chuckles. was interesting”. Sachi’s Australian public service career After graduation in early 1994, it was not was briefy interrupted with a short time in long after the end Australia’s “Recession Papua New Guinea. Her then-partner got We Had To Have”, Sachi had spent a “nice a job over there and so she followed. She year” on the Great Barrier Reef fnishing was lucky enough to get a job as a fsheries of her honours year in marine biology but advisor. Unfortunately, someone took there wasn’t a lot of work around for a “umbrage” at a variety of reforms that were newly-minted graduate. going on – which, incidentally, wasn’t in “When I handed in my thesis, I thought ‘oh Sachi’s area – and when her visa came up my God, what do I do now?’,” she says, for renewal… it wasn’t renewed. adding that she “toyed” with the idea of Sachi was glad to come back to Australia becoming an academic. and the Public Service, to continue her She settled for, in difcult economic times, career. Life in Papua New Guinea could a job as an ocean tour guide at the coastal be… difcult. suburb of Manly, which is famed for its “We lived in a fully-secure compound: beaches, clifs and its rocky shores. It was dogs, guards, window bars, razor wire. The then she realised that marine biology did bedroom had a massive security door you not have a good career trajectory. could barricade yourself behind if you had She “fell” into her frst serious job working to. But someone broke in. They threw a with a lobby group and then worked for mattress over the razor wire, jimmied open
20 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 the bars and broke in. We thought we were safe because of all the security. But we Outside of work weren’t really. It shook me, it could happen to me. I was in my early 30s and thought I was immortal. Maybe my mortality came Family and heritage home to me,” she laughs. Sachi has a sister Joy, a naturalised Back at home, she undertook an Executive Australian. Joy was a war orphan from Master of Public Administration, which is Vietnam in 1975, which was at the basically very like a Master of Business tail-end of the Vietnam War. Sachi’s Administration but focused on government parents adopted Joy. and public service. Sachi is a frst-generation Australian. “It was very helpful, and it rounded out Her parents are from Austria and my understanding of government. I most migrated to Australia. enjoyed meeting the people! They were fantastic people and we were in touch for a Surprising fact: “Sachi” is the shortened long time afterwards,” she says. form of the Japanese name “Sachiko”, a feminine name apparently meaning As can be seen from Sachi’s resume, she “child of bliss” or “happiness”, when has worked extensively in the public service written in kanji. Hence the naming of in a variety of roles. She says that most of the two Wimmer sisters: Happiness and her career is made up of bouncing in and out Joy. of the Prime Minister’s Department. “It is my foundational experience – knowing how, Sachi’s frst language is – or rather, when and who to talk to, to infuence,” she was, German, and she had to learn says. English at an early age. “I can still understand German but I don’t speak it Among the time she vividly remembers are very well,” she says. Beyond enjoying times at the Ofce of Transport Security. a schnitzel, she freely confesses that Coast, the Southern Highlands, and the It had grown massively after the terrorist she’s “not very Austrian”. That said, Snowy Mountains. attacks of 9/11 and there needed to be Sachi likes to visit Austria to see family It’s not all rocketing around, under, over, refocusing and transformation. During when she can. or on top of the Australian countryside her time, the agency reformed how it dealt Activities and interests though. She is a voracious reader, with risk, its policy and legislative agenda saying that her favourite book is and also how the workforce carried out its Sachi is a keen skier. She tries to “Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier. “It operational compliance. Then there was the blend skiing trips with visits to overseas has to be good quality writing. I can’t frst major aviation-related terrorism plot in family. She did a little skiing at school stand Mills & Boon,” she says. Australia, when malevolent actors tried to but came back to it in her 20s. “I smuggle an improvised explosive device. thought, this is something I wanted Turning to TV, and Sachi enthuses to do,” Sachi says, so she took a about English drama and crime series. “It was very signifcant, as it was the frst She also doesn’t mind a bit of Scandi- time it had happened here,” she says. few lessons then a few more, and eventually became a skiing instructor, Noir. Her favourite show that comes There was also an intensive period when teaching at a mountain school in the to mind is “Killing Eve”, which is about law enforcement agencies were pushing for Austrian Tyrol, part of the European a violent, psychotic female assassin. criminality checks as part of the Maritime Alpine mountain range. “I’m not quite sure what that says about Security Identity Card process. There was me,” she muses, adding that she’s a a National Security Check – which checks Hiking is a favoured activity, whether fan of action flms and James Bond in if a person has any terrorist afliations – that’s multi-day hiking in South America particular. “We just did a retrospective but it didn’t check criminality. Legislation or single-day walks. “I like to do long on James Bond as we’re not going was introduced but the unions became multi-day walks but I’m a bit soft now out these days. I’ve always quite liked very concerned about how it might afect and like to go on catered walks,” she Piers Brosnan and I quite like Daniel employment at the wharf. confesses. She also hikes around the Craig. It’s escapism for me”. Canberra Centenary trail. It’s a 145 There have been other intense high-stakes kilometre walk but Sachi and a friend Musically, Sachi tends to listen to issues and matters too. have broken it into 30 kilometre hikes whatever her partner puts on as “he’s each time. “It’s good for a catch-up the music-man”. However, she’s often “I spent a lot of time working on people- and a bit of a natter,” she explains. running to some kind of dance anthem smuggling for a number of diferent Prime and she likes alternative music by acts Ministers including Howard, Rudd, and Sachi has also enjoyed caving, such as Massive Attack, a multi-award Gillard and Abbot. They were some of canyoning, scuba and skydiving. “I winning, English 90s hip hop group. the toughest gigs that I have ever done. enjoy the adrenaline thrill and the She’s also a fan of the Stevie Nicks-era They were the jobs that really helped build mental preparation. It’s the satisfaction Fleetwood Mac. resilience. They were fast, high-paced, and and thrill of doing something that’s taught me how to put my own views aside,” challenging,” she explains. Sachi also She has a “handkerchief” sized she says. enjoys going for a run and working vegetable patch for gardening. After out. “I’m a much nicer person if I a busy week holding meetings and Later, in the early 2000s, there were lots of get up early and go to the gym,” communicating with stakeholders and issues around illegal fshing, and Sachi feels she laughs. She also enjoys group working inside an ofce every day, the she really worked on areas that delivered exercise classes, which are motivating outdoors and the fresh air is appealing. outcomes in the national interest – new because it is about keeping up with the It also gives her a bit of much-needed legislation and more capable Australian other exercisers. Sachi is also a keen time to herself. She likes gardening patrol boats with greater range. motorbike rider and with her partner, because its creative. “I’ve gotten very “It really felt like I’d driven a successful area she likes to go touring around nearby good at growing zucchini – they’re the of policy work,” she says. parts of Australia such as in the South easiest things to grow,” she quips.
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 21 MARITIME HISTORY
No day too long, no task too arduous 100 Years of making shipping safer - a century of achievements of the Royal Australian Navy Hydrographic Service
By SUE MCDONOGH*
Shipping is the lifeblood of the modern world. Ninety per cent of all goods traded, travel around the globe carted by ships at sea. Hydrographers make safe shipping possible. Without national hydrographic services providing navigation data and services there would be no safe trade routes, and seafaring would be a very dangerous occupation at best. October 2020 marks the 100th Anniversary of the Australian Hydrographic Service. As an island nation, our Hydrographic Service was born out of obvious necessity, and has developed into a world-leader in hydrographic advances and technology. Mainland Australia has one of the longest coastlines on Earth, measuring almost 32,255 nautical miles (59,736 kilometres). Add to this, the islands and territories for which Australia has charting responsibility, HMAS Geranium – Australia’s frst hydrographic survey ship Image: Department of Defence the total charting area encompasses an astounding 13 million square nautical Royal Navy Hydrographer. From taking soundings using a lead weight on a graduated line, lowered to the seabed miles. Comprising around ten per cent of Following the Great War, the British the world’s oceans. - to using satellite imaging and lasers to Government encouraged its Dominions to collect data. From hand engraving copper Before Federation and up until the establish their own hydrographic services. plates to produce paper charts, to the outbreak of World War I, British Navy From this directive, the Australian computer-based Electronic Chart Display survey ships carried out surveys in remote Hydrographic Service (AHS) was born. and Information System (ECDIS), which areas of Australian waters and nautical On 1 October 1920 Captain John Robins, supersedes paper – hydrography has charts were produced by the British come a long way in the past 100 years. Admiralty Hydrographic Ofce. For large formerly of the Royal Navy, was appointed scale surveys, for example - approaches Hydrographer RAN. The Hydrographic The early days of the AHS saw a close to harbours, the British Admiralty supplied Department RAN was established in collaboration with the British Admiralty surveying ofcers who joined local crews Melbourne, and HMAS Geranium was Hydrographic Ofce, and while Australia on boats provided by the individual States, commissioned as Australia’s frst survey carried out its own hydrographic surveys, through agreements drawn up by the ship. our charts were printed in the United
22 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 Kingdom. The onset of World War II, and interrupted supply lines, highlighted the disadvantage of having our charts printed half-way around the world and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) assumed the responsibility for production of our own charts in 1942. Legislative basis For such a fundamental national navigation safety service continuing to meet Australia’s needs and its international obligations, it is ironic that for 90 years there was no legislative basis for the Australian Hydrographic Service. It was not until 1946, following the war, that the Australian Federal Cabinet declared that the surveying and charting of Australian waters would become the responsibility of Laser Airborne Depth Sounder – de Havilland Dash 8 aircraft 2017 Image: Department of Defence the Commonwealth Naval Board and that the cost of providing the service on 14 March 1966 under the instruction would be shared among the States Detached Survey Unit (HODSU) frst of Chief Petty Ofcer Survey Recorder of Australia. In 1988 the Richardson deployed to Mawson Station aboard Petrass. Allocated one classroom, Review was conducted to determine a resupply vessel of the Australian and one survey motorboat, berthed the demarcation of responsibilities for Antarctic Division. HODSU consisted at Penguin for instructional purposes, land and ocean surveying and mapping of a survey motorboat and two half CPOSR Petrass was supported by the shipping containers of surveying, charting between the Royal Australia Navy, personnel from the AHS supplementing equipment and spares. The unit had National Mapping Department and the the School during course times. previously been deployed to foreign Australian Survey Ofce. Prime Minister countries on contract to conduct surveys. Hawke adopted the Richardson Review Today, in a vastly extended facility, recommendation that the RAN continue the School continues to train both This cooperation has continued and responsibility for providing hydrographic RAN and international students, under Australia’s new Antarctic support vessel services to Australia, and the Australian co-operation programmes from many Nuyina, due to arrive in Australia this year, Survey Ofce take all responsibilities for countries. Graduates of the School was designed with a full hydrographic land mapping. The National Mapping are valued in the commercial world of survey capability. Department was disbanded. hydrographic surveying. The courses Airborne laser hydrography cater for various levels of hydrographic The Navy’s hydrographic responsibility surveying and are certifed under was fnally written into legislation in In 1972, under instruction from the then the National Accreditation via ACT the 100-year review of the Navigation Hydrographer RAN, Captain JHS Osborn, Registration and Accreditation Council Act 2012. Section 223 now defnes the Weapons Research Establishment and the International Board for Standards the Australian Hydrographic Service (now Defence Science and Technology of Competence for Hydrographic and specifes its functions including: Organisation), based in Adelaide, was Surveyors. collecting hydrographic data, tasked to investigate the development of laser technology for the acquisition of disseminating hydrographic information, Hydrographic surveying in Antarctica and being responsible for the provision hydrographic data. Collection of hydrographic and of hydrographic services and navigation On 8 October 1993, the Laser Airborne oceanographic data in Australia’s safety products required by the Safety Depth Sounder (LADS) Flight was Antarctic territories has been conducted Convention (SOLAS). commissioned into the RAN by by the RAN and the AHS from its early Lieutenant Commander Rod Nairn. In 2017, a further review saw the days. Captain MH Moyes RAN was Leading the world in this technology, from Australian Hydrographic Ofce and appointed survey ofcer, at the request October 1993 to October 2019, LADS the Strategic Intelligence and Policy of Douglas Mawson, on his Antarctic conducted national charting surveys in Group (SP&I) amalgamate to become expedition in RRS Discovery in 1929-30. shallow and hazardous areas where ships the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence In recognition of his work operating an could not initially enter. Organisation, with the Hydrographic echosounder, taking sights and drawing Survey Force remaining in the RAN. Navy charts, Moyes’ was awarded Polar LADS was able to collect enormous and the SP&I now share responsibility for medals and a Bronze Clasp. amounts of data compared to delivering hydrographic services required conventional plotting from a survey ship, This type of collaboration between RAN by the Navigation Act 2012. achieving over 3500 square nautical miles personnel and Antarctic expeditions in a single year. Following an upgrade of Key milestones collecting hydrographic data to enable the system in 2008, increased density of compilation of nautical charts and sailing The RAN Hydrographic School soundings and depths down to 70 metres direction by the AHS continued for could be collected. Further upgrades of Prior to 1966, training of specialist around 60 years. the aircraft and the survey system in 2009 seamen to undertake survey operations Discussions began in 1983 to develop a and 2016 allowed improved efciency (Survey Recorders) was carried out cooperative approach between the AHS with higher sounding density with faster on-the-job at sea, whilst prospective and the Australian Antarctic Division in transit times, as well as faster turn times. surveying ofcers were sent to the United order to improve charting in the vicinity Kingdom to be trained. On 10 February After 18 years of continuous service, of the Australian Antarctic Territory and 1966, it was announced a Hydrographic LADS was decommissioned on 6 Australian Sub-Antarctic bases. School would be established at HMAS November 2019, having fown more than Penguin in Sydney. The ‘School’ opened In 1989, the Hydrographic Ofce 3000 sorties in 186 surveys and collected
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 23 transition, changing the production paradigm from paper product based to a digital database of information. An ISO 9001 QMS was introduced, aggressive targets were set, key cartographic experts were focussed on assurance and in-house production capability was augmented by outsourced contractors. This was a massive efort to metricate, recompile and produce ENC. The result was to achieve complete Australian Electronic Navigational Chart coverage by June 2012, ten years ahead of original schedule and in time to meet IMO’s mandatory carriage of ECDIS. Women at Sea The Australian Hydrographic Service had chalked up many notable achievements over the past 100 years but one that should not be overlooked is their HMAS Leeuwin Image: Department of Defence leadership in equalising the employment opportunities for women. more than 50,000 square nautical miles of approved by Navy, and Nairn set about In 1989, the AHS became the frst branch data. A sad day for many. the more difcult task of changing a long- of the RAN to post women to sea. Initially held paradigm of crew loyalty to a ship, Hydrographer’s Passage in the senior survey ship HMAS Moresby. into one of rallying behind the banner of a There followed, further postings of female There have been many shorter and safer squadron. ofcers and sailors to the entire feet of shipping routes discovered, surveyed and In a unique event, three Commanding survey ships and survey motor launches. charted by the Australian Hydrographic Ofcers, Commander’s Kafer, Nairn and Service over the last 100 years. It is In 1997, Commander Jenny Daetz Lieutenant Commander Hardy, leading ftting that one very signifcant new became the frst female commanding three Hydrographic Ship Crews (HS) Red, passage through the Great Barrier Reef ofcer of an RAN ship when she was White and Blue, jointly commissioned of the coast of Mackay was given the posted as CO HMAS Shepparton. Later HMA Ships Leeuwin and Melville on 27 name Hydrographer’s Passage. The in her career, Captain Daetz was also the May 2000. The crews rotated through survey and delineation of Hydrographer’s frst female to command a major navy the ships to provide both maximum Passage by the Australian hydrographic ship, when posted as commanding ofcer operational efciency and improved crew ship HMAS Flinders in 1981, under the of HS Red Crew in HMA Ships Leeuwin respite. The Australian Hydrographic command of hydrographer, Commander and Melville. Women serving in all Service became the frst branch of the James Bond, won the recognition of positions at sea is now standard practice RAN to adopt and successfully implement the Royal Geographical Society and throughout the RAN. multi-crewing on its ships. What became highlighted the valuable work of our known as ‘The Nairn Plan’ was later Bravo Zulu modern-day explorers in the AHS. This adapted to the patrol boat feet. 60-mile-long passage shortens the round- The face of today’s Australian trip shipping route for vessels carrying Computer navigation systems – ECDIS Hydrographic Service has changed many Australian coal from the ports of Hay and ENC times over the frst one hundred years. Point and Abbot Point through the Great But the list of achievements is long. Among the most recent and most Barrier Reef bound for Asia, by 500 miles. Certainly, the opening of new commercial signifcant achievements of the modern A valuable and permanent beneft to ports, the discovery and charting of AHS was the development of a full suite Australia’s coal export trade. new passages and the high standard of Electronic Navigational Charts to of coastal charting have been major New ships and multi-crewing support the IMO’s move to compulsory contributors to Australia’s economic carriage of Electronic Chart Display In 2000, the AHS commissioned two prosperity, marine environment protection and Information System (ECDIS) in all new Leeuwin Class survey ships, HMAS and efective border protection. These commercial vessels. Melville and HMAS Leeuwin. Each ship are the legacies of the Australian carries a compliment of 56 crew, ten The AHS pioneered computer chart Hydrographic Service. BRAVO ZULU. ofcers and 46 sailors, with the added production technologies from the 1970’s, space for up to fve trainees. At the and was infuential in the development of time, economic pressure coupled with international ECDIS and ENC standards personnel satisfaction led the AHS to through the 1990’s. By the early 2000’s, introduce a new regime of crewing. Navy the AHS had produced a raster chart had limited the days that crew members series under the Seafarer brand. But the could spend at sea each year, but the chart portfolio hadn’t been modernised. ships were designed for high utilisation Since 1972, a metric conversion and maximising economic efciency programme had been ticking along but in Acknowledgement meant keeping them at sea for the longest the early 2000’s our chart coverage was Source Information: Leadline to Laser, RJ Hardstaf; possible time each year. still entirely paper-based, much of it still Through the Barrier Reef - The Hydrographers Passage Story, John CH Foley, and various articles written for contained data from old lead-line surveys During the fnal stages of the ship build, the history of the AHS by Ian Halls, Michael DeRuyter and many charts were still in feet and and Kevin Slade. Commander Nairn, refned a crewing fathoms. system where three crews would share *Sue McDonogh worked at the Hydrographic Chart Depot, Observatry Hill, and the Australian Hydrographic operational duties rotating through This all changed within a period of seven Ofce at Kent and William Street, Walker Street North the two new ships. The proposal was years. The AHS underwent its greatest Sydney and Burelli Street Wollongong.
24 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Port by Port and Ship by Ship, we provide full port agency services through our AUSTRALIA unique network. Our geographical coverage spans over 1500 different port locations, supporting over 2500 diverse clients. Our local knowledge enables us to deliver quality services where they are needed most, enabling our customers to ship smoothly and trade successfully.
Our services include: • Port Agency NEW ZEALAND • Liner Agency • Husbandry Services • Marine Survey and Inspection • Bio-Fouling and Underwater Inspection • Offshore Support Services • Bunker Coordination • Ship Maintenance • Spares and Supplies • Provisions and Stores • Cash to Master • Marine Survey and Inspection • Medical Assistance • Crew Movements and Logistics • Disbursement Accounting • Bunker Duty and Freight Tax • Coastal License
Australia New Zealand Papua New Guinea
Inchcape Shipping Services ISS-Mackay Ltd Inchcape Shipping Services Ground Floor, 120 Christie Street, The Shipping Exchange The Shipping Exchange St Leonards, 2 Akaroa Street, Parnell, Level 5, Mogoru Moto Building NSW 2065 Auckland 1052 Champion Parade, Port Moresby 121 Tel : +61 2 9410 8888 Tel : +64 9 3094 266 Tel: + 675 321 2599 Email : [email protected] Email : [email protected] Email : [email protected]
CONNECT TO A SMOOTHER, SMARTER OCEAN www.iss-shipping.com Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 25 Shipping Australia Limited Annual Review 2019 27 MARITIME HISTORY
Burns Philp: ‘bloody pirates’ of the Pacifc
By STEPHEN WESTFIELD*
June 2020 marks the 50th US, Germany, France, The Netherlands 2006. For shipping readers, this article will anniversary of the sale by Burns, and Japan. In a time before air travel and concentrate on BP’s shipping activities. instant mobile communications, this golden Humble beginnings Philp & Co Limited (BP) of the age of sea transport was inhabited by last of its Australian crewed ships tough, but colourful characters who crewed The great Australian enterprise began following the vessel’s fnal port call and loaded BP’s ships around the South in 1872, when young Scotsman, James at Sydney. The 3,175 deadweight Pacifc’s ports, while their colleagues back Burns, established a general store in tonnes MV Moresby, was built in in Sydney were more often than not to be Townsville to supply the north Queensland found negotiating the price of cargoes in gold mining boom, in felds stretching from the State Dockyard in Newcastle, the public houses around Sydney’s Circular the frontier coastal town inland to Charters only fve years earlier. Its sale in Quay. Towers and the Gulf of Carpentaria to the west and Cooktown to the north. June 1970, marked the end of an From its modest beginnings in a general Frustrated by poor shipping services to era for Australian shipping. BP’s store in Townsville, the company’s history supply the sales of his increasing trade, is a fascinating journey of expansion transformative decision to sell Burns elected to charter a small steamer into shipping, plantation ownership and the Moresby was indicative of the named Isabelle, to ship goods from Sydney, large-scale trading across Australia, a move that drove home to Burns the commercial pressures at the time Asia and throughout the South Pacifc. dependence of isolated communities like on the shipping business and the The company’s impressive sandstone Townsville at the time, on supply by sea. negative impact of the Federal headquarters at 5-11 Bridge Street, The following year, Burns ofered fellow Sydney, built-in 1899, is a testament to the Government decision to end vital Scot, Robert Philp (later to become Premier remarkable history of BP as a household subsidies. of Queensland), a job in Townsville for a company name in Australia. BP’s decision salary of £250 a year. This was the start For 75 years from 1885, the company’s to diversify in the 1970s and 1980s was of a remarkable gentleman’s agreement ships provided a lifeline for the South greeted initially by share market investors, between Burns and Philp, unmarred Pacifc’s island nations. BP also became but the company struggled through the by serious dispute throughout their a de facto arm of Australian infuence protracted recession of the 1990s, and partnership. and diplomacy in the regional struggle sufered a fateful delisting from the between the imperial powers of Britain, the Australian Stock Exchange in December Shortly after forming the partnership,
Burns Philp ship MV Moresby inbound in Sydney Harbour 1965 Image: Sydney Heritage Fleet
26 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 Burns was obliged to move to Sydney decisive battles were fought in Europe, the after sufering repeated bouts of malaria. outcomes would have drastic impacts on Philp remained in Townsville to manage colonies in the Pacifc Islands. Germany the general store and the continuing controlled substantial lands in the South expansion of the business in Queensland, Pacifc and was supported in the early while Burns grew cargo volumes from 1900s by Norddeutsher Lloyd. It lost Sydney, and shipped supplies up the east ground immediately after the start of World coast to Townsville, and other Queensland War 1, however, when Australian troops ports. This marked the beginnings of occupied German New Guinea and the the partnership’s regular coastal shipping nearby Bismarck Archipelago. BP quickly services. Burns became an expert in established a service to Rabaul on the assessing ships and revelling in the island of New Britain, and was supported business of chartering, buying and selling in its expansionary moves by winning small vessels, while Philp presided over the Australian Government subsidies to help it expansion of stores in the rapidly growing compete with the fags of other nations. North Queensland economy, buoyed by the French territories included New Caledonia, development of its mining, cattle and sugar Tahiti, plus half share with Britain of the industries. The period was not without New Hebrides (later Vanuatu) condominium. incident. In 1887, on the maiden voyage of The Dutch, remaining neutral, had control one of the earliest ships owned by Burns, of the East Indies (modern Indonesia) and the wooden steamer Banshee, shipping western New Guinea. British interests goods between Townsville and Cooktown, were mainly Fiji, the Solomon Islands and ran aground and was wrecked with the James Burnes Image: Sydney Heritage Fleet protectorate roles over the Gilbert and loss of 20 lives. The disaster was a harsh Ellice Islands (now Kiribati and Tuvalu) and introduction to the hazards of shipping. established by 1884 in Port Moresby, then Tonga, and its half share (with France) of With the stores continuing to prosper part of British New Guinea. During this the New Hebrides. The United States and Japan had keen interest too in the region. through the late 1800s, Burns and Philp time, BP ships began passenger services There was further complexity in the region also had grown their coastal shipping and started to market holiday voyages on with then British colonies Australia and New services across New South Wales, their ships to the Pacifc Islands. Zealand, also vying for regional infuence. Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. The South Pacifc theatre and WWII This expansion continued to Thursday Japan’s NYK line ran services from North Island, with BP’s acquisition of a pearl Throughout the early to mid-1900s, rival Asia, KPM was the leading Dutch shipping shelling business. This led to supplying imperial powers tussled for control and line in the region, and Messageries the industry, and then the next step of infuence in the Pacifc region, and the Maritimes serviced the French colonies. international shipping into New Guinea. shipping lines of these countries supported Britain’s Bank Line was an active shipowner The partners’ frst overseas store had been the national imperial ambitions. Whilst in the South Pacifc on behalf of traders
Dedicated to the safe and efficient handling of cargo worldwide
A full range of services: • Sales and Marketing • Vessel Husbandry and Crew • Management and Control of Equipment Procurement of Terminal Services and other service providers • Integrated systems with Customs, Port Authorities, Terminal Operators and service providers • All local Documentation
Offering: • Experienced and highly skilled staff • Global network connections • Total operational flexibility 24 hours a day, 365 days per year
PAE is dedicated to the safe and efficient handling of cargo worldwide by providing a high level of tailored service to meet all our customer needs.
Agents for: pae.com.au
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 27 period of rapid growth in trade across the Pacifc, and 60 vessels at the peak. BP controlled a network of company stores and agencies across Australia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands, Kiribati and Tuvalu, Fiji and Samoa. The key Australia to New Guinea trade was eventually taken over by The China Navigation Company in 1952, with the beginning of New Guinea Line with services carrying the same cargoes. Burns Philp’s numerous stores scattered throughout PNG were eventually sold to long-standing shipping competitor Steamships. What remains today of the company are the numerous buildings in Australia and throughout the Pacifc, some of which are heritage-listed, including its former grand Burns Philp ship MV Bululo docked at Sydney 1965 Image: Sydney Heritage Fleet headquarters on Bridge Street in Sydney’s CBD, and buildings in Townsville. The Lever Brothers, buying copra and coconut these were often transhipped to Europe. large-scale trading and retail companies oil for Lever’s European, US and Australian Early BP ships had their own “trading that were started by Burns Philp will ensure factories. Amongst these foreign carriers, rooms” where merchandise was traded the company is frmly ingrained into the Burns Philp was both competitor and for island products, with the transaction history of Australian business, providing Australian operator, leveraging its regional taking place on the ship. From 1920 livelihoods for thousands of employees and businesses under the guise of also onwards, a subsidiary Burns Philp (South a lifeline for dozens of Pacifc communities. protecting and strengthening Australia’s Seas), operated all shipping trades east of Although it was exposed to taunts, albeit interests. Australia and New Guinea into the Pacifc, friendly ones, about being “pirates”, BP and inter-island cargoes to avoid Australia’s played a key role in the growth in trade, James Burns and infuential Sydney-based trade union demands and the Navigation communications and development of BP island manager, Walter Lucas, felt that Act. Australia and South Pacifc nations. Its Australia should control the South Pacifc, legacy is a tribute to the vision of its and were particularly suspicious about Shipping in the Pacifc was frequently founders, James Burns and Robert Philp, German intentions. unproftable unless it included copra and an industrial example of the success trading. The control of plantations that can be achieved in a free enterprise Throughout both major wars, BP vessels and supply was vital to BP’s services. society with vision, courage and resolve. were called on in the Pacifc confict to Important trading partners of BP carry supplies, personnel and ammunition. throughout the Pacifc were the numerous In World War II, eight company ships were religious missions, which required large requisitioned and six were lost in enemy quantities of cargo shipped for mission action. One notable incident involving a use, as well as various revenue-earning BP vessel occurred when the MV Malaita, business interests. From the mid-1900s, shipped troops and supplies into New BP grew rapidly in terms of its vessels and Guinea, and helped evacuate women and expanding trading opportunities between children following the outbreak of war with Australia and South East Asia. One of the the Japanese. Malaita survived a torpedo later trade routes of BP was Sydney to the fred by the Japanese submarine near the Pacifc Islands and on to the West Coast Port Moresby Harbour entrance on 23 of North America using prominent service August 1942. vessel MV Tulagi registered by Burns Philp Throughout WWII, BP mariners assisted (South Seas) Ltd Suva. allied forces in the Pacifc with their vast, A substantial share of Burns Philp’s detailed knowledge of the channels, reefs revenue and history was generated and shoals. This knowledge, together through passengers travelling on their with their pilotage and guidance skills, ships in an era where people weren’t as proved invaluable (several BP captains rushed, and a voyage to the South Pacifc being decorated) as the “island-hopping” was an adventure. A testament to the campaigns of the Allies pushed back the familiarity of BP ships in the islands was Japanese incursions. the departure on its fnal voyage of SS Bulolo (which had accommodation capacity Shipping trades for 239 passengers) from Port Moresby Burns Philp was a mercantile trading for Australia, in January 1968. More than business but was driven into shipping to 1,000 people gathered at the wharf to support its business. Ironically, shipping farewell her on her last voyage. became its main business. In the age Burns Philp legacy before containerisation, the cargo was *Stephen Westfeld is trade manager at Swire Shipping, shipped on pallets or loose. The Australia For more than 75 years, the vessels of chairman of Young Shipping Australia, New South Wales, to New Guinea service, with two ships Burns Philp provided a lifeline for Australian and a director of the Australian Merchant Navy War providing two sailings every three months communities and the South Pacifc’s island Memorial Fund. was the central trade for BP up to 1970. nations. Over that time, BP owned more Export cargo loaded in the Pacifc included than 150 vessels, and at the peak of its This article was frst published in Daily Cargo News June agricultural commodities, largely copra, and shipping business in the 1950s during the 2020 edition.
28 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 29 IMO 2020
After IMO 2020: consequences of using low sulphur fuel
By JOHN PAGNI*
When the International Maritime Organization voted to make a new global limit on sulphur in fuel, it was no surprise that those most afected complained the most. Ship operators were facing fuel bunker costs that made up to 50-60 per cent of operating expenditure. The need for fuels other than high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) that would have a sulphur content of 0.5 per cent (or less) was forecast to raise bunker prices. But what actually happened?
In Emission Control Areas such as the low number of vessels taking this route. bought 420,000 tonnes of 0.5 per cent Baltic Sea and the North Sea, a 0.1 per The future availability of (the main 3.5 per sulphur fuel oil. This was loaded onto its cent limit has applied since 2015. Cargo cent sulphur HFO) IFO380 is uncertain, as 441,562dwt 380 metre long ULCC Oceania carriers basically had a choice between new types of fuel will become the standard in the Mediterranean in March 2019. compliant fuel (aka very low sulphur fuel oil then. Many carriers have decided to scrap Oceania arrived in Singapore in September, or ‘VLSFO’) or installing scrubbers, or other older ships rather than retroft them.” and then acted as a foating storage and exhaust gas cleaning systems in order to ofshore unit. burn HSFO. These are neither cheap to Case study illustrates price volatility and This cargo was entered into Euronav’s install nor mature in their development unpredictability full-year 2019 report with a $305 million and reliability. Apart from those who are Let’s take a look at a cautionary tale from valuation, which compares badly with deploying currently exotic fuels such as Belgian shipowner Euronav about doing the $370 million book valuation on 30 liquefed natural gas, or carrying out trials the right thing to reduce risk, in the face September 2019. The real cost was $317 into fuels such as ammonia, many of the of predicted turmoil. The large tanker million which Euronav part-fnanced by a world’s commercial ship operators, such owner-operator has a feet of 69 vessels: secured bank loan of $167 million as Royal Wagenborg, opted for very low two ultra large crude carriers, 39 very large sulphur fuel. crude carriers (VLCCs) and 26 Suezmaxes, The idea of course was to protect Euronav from price turbulence and premiums “It does not require making technical with another four very large crude carriers expected when the new sulphur fuel limit changes to existing vessels,” explained due for delivery late 2020 and 2021. The came into force. It has been revealed Sebastiaan Verstappen, Senior Chartering company is involved in ocean transport and Euronav paid an average of $703/tonne for Operator at Royal Wagenborg. crude oil storage. It’s no fringe player. its 420,000 tonne purchase, when the price “Also, the price diferential between VLSFO It was reported on 1 April (2020) that of delivered 0.5 per cent sulphur fuel oil and marine gasoil (MGO) will encourage the Euronav would write down the value of the in Singapore averaged $898.22 /tonne in use of blended fuel and its availability will IMO-compliant 0.5 per cent sulphur fuel oil October. That later rose to $910.30/tonne not be a problem. A scrubber installation, it bought last year after the price collapsed. by November. The price climbed again on the other hand, costs up to several Euronav, seeking to hedge against the up to $1,042.86/tonne during December. million (euros) per ship, which explains the forecast price rise in compliant fuels, Singapore’s monthly average price for 0.5
30 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 per cent sulphur fuel oil hit $1,090.36/tonne Shipowners fled 41 compliant FONARs The International Maritime Organization in January. Euronav’s actions looked a in January. This total plunged to just six takes this issue seriously. It stated that masterpiece of prescience. in February, and only a single FONAR compliance means the sample taken at in March, signalling improving supply delivery should not exceed 0.5 per cent High demand was driven by the new low- availability in meeting current demand sulphur. But the limit is 0.53 per cent sulphur regulation and also by refected conditions. sulphur for a sample, from the ship’s fuel industry angst about supply availability in tank. The case for this small relaxation the region. According to media sources, of this year’s is that the IMO wants to instil a 95 per FONARs, 34 concerned a lack of 0.5 per Unfortunately fate intervened: the price cent quality confdence bar by allowing cent sulphur fuel oil in a port, two were due collapsed in the following months. There for diferent testing methods and it wants to no 0.1 per cent sulphur marine gasoil was a drop to $824.44/tonne in February as to ensure operators are not penalised for and three stated neither type of fuel was demand slowed and supply improved. By small transgressions. available. March 2020, the price was $527.68/tonne Another forecast quality-related side-efect because of falls in the crude price and The remaining nine said that the available is that low sulphur fuel may gum up a ship’s dropping demand. complying fuel was tested and was found engines. This may be caused by cat fnes to be out-specifcation because of high The supply/price war between Russia and left over from refnery cracking, or above- sulphur content. Saudi Arabia, and economic seriousness normal wax contents, or cold fow and fash of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic were New 0.5 per cent sulphur fuel oil blends point levels. “Cat fnes” are usually tiny bits both factors in the fall. were on ofer in 2019 in some of the main of silicon compounds and/or aluminium global bunkering hubs for testing, and in in fuel that are left-over from the catalytic- Euronav has not said how much its 0.5 commercial volumes in November. But cracking of crude oil during the refning per cent sulphur fuel oil stocks would process. be written down, but that it would be supply of 0.5 per cent sulphur fuel oil remained patchy in some smaller bunkering “signifcantly below the acquisition cost.” The situation as of April and the 2020 locations in the lead-up to 1 January and The shipowner is now buying 0.5 per cent vision sulphur for its feet on the open market. thereafter. Shipping companies have revealed that More information on the fnal write-down So, unfortunately for shipowners that were despite dire warnings, the change of 0.5 is to be shown in its Q1 when results are recalibrating their bunker procurement per cent sulphur LSFOs from 3.5 per cent published in May. Furthermore, Euronav’s networks, they occasionally discovered sulphur HFOs has gone surprisingly well. current bunker inventory reporting reveals ports where fuel with less than 0.5 per cent Hong Kong’s OOCL, one of the world’s it has not used most of the fuel since its sulphur content was unavailable. purchase. largest container ship operators, and Industry feedback indicates that Saudi provider of regular liner service to Australia, Accessing fuel – how available is low Arabian ports had the least availability, with takes a positive view. OOCL’s spokesman, sulphur fuel? two FONARs each for Yanbu and Jeddah, Michael Fitzgerald, made the following statement to Shipping Australia when According to maritime fuel specialist and one for Dhuba. Brazil, Egypt and India asked about OOCL’s experience: Argus Media, there are signs that IMO- had four FONARs each, and they were followed by South Africa and Sri Lanka on compliant marine fuel is becoming more “OOCL’s transition into the use of low three. widely available in ports around the world. sulphur fuel for our ships has been smooth, Shipowners are fling fewer fuel oil non- The largest international shipping and we have not seen any major issues in availability reports (known as FONARs) association BIMCO (the Baltic and our compliance to the new requirements. which help prevent possible prosecution International Marine Council) stated the Many major bunkering ports, such as those and fnes for using non-compliant fuel. low number of FONARs fled “may not be in Singapore, Rotterdam, Los Angeles and New York, are still supplying us with the FONARs are a reporting mechanism for refective of non-availability because it does shipowners that are unable to source not count shipowners that wait for fuel to bunker we need and to date, we have not 0.5 per cent sulphur fuel in ports from 1 become available in a port or travel to a observed any signifcant diference in terms January. Thus, if a vessel calls into port to diferent port to source IMO-compliant fuel of bunker availability or choice between bunker, but fnds no 0.5 per cent sulphur there instead”. these locations.” fuel oil then, in theory, the owner can send It was reported that there was limited Those comments are supported by Daisuke a FONAR to the IMO. However, it is neither availability of compliant fuels in Singapore Fujihashi, speaking for Mitsui OSK Lines’ easy nor cheap, as the ship’s operator must and Port Klang (Malaysia) at the start of Bunker Business Team. It also noted a check if any 0.1 per cent sulphur fuel or 0.5 2020, which caused queues of up to nine smooth transition. per cent sulphur marine gasoil is for sale days. But note: there have not been any before a FONAR can be fled. “Obviously there were some hiccups here FONARs for either of those ports. and there, but all-in-all the transition this “FONARs remain a tool of last resort and Of the nine FONARs for bunker fuel that year has been smoother than expected. are not something that a ship will be able tested of-specifcation, two documented The tightness of compliant fuel was seen to use routinely,” said Simon Bennett, places were Malta and Cristobal (Panama). around the world, but especially in the Far International Chamber of Shipping deputy All examples of fuel with non-compliant East and US, where it was more difcult secretary general. sulphur content above the limit were to secure stems. We have managed “The circumstances in which a FONAR can recorded in January, when the bunker to conclude term contracts before the be used are very limited, and conditions industry had quality wrinkles. difculty started, thus we were able to secure stems as planned and did not have attached to their use will be strict. Quality issues Shipowners still need to remain focused much problem,” Mr Fujihashi said. on doing everything possible to ensure Testing fuel quality is important. Even full compliance in 2020.” Meaning the reliable sources of 0.5 per cent sulphur absolute minimum of non-compliant fuel fuel must be checked. As noted above, may be loaded and the residue ofoaded at there have been examples of low sulphur the next port state control (PCS) inspection fuel being of specifcation. A possible when compliant fuel is taken – as in reason why is blending of diferent fuels *JOHN PAGNI is a freelance photographer, Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering – producers may have accidentally gone journalist and correspondent based in the port. above the low sulphur limit during blending. Helsinki area, Finland
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 31 COVID-19 IMPACTS Consequences for cargo shipping and seafarers
By JIM WILSON
COVID-19 has imposed a series of Chinese port within the previous 14 days. personnel interpreted the order so as to adverse impacts on shipping and world prevent ship agents from going aboard. It There were an immediate number of trade, ranging from the relatively minor to took a further maritime order, issued a few efects of the 14 day stay-away rules on the extraordinarily serious. Sadly, some days later, to solve that problem. Getting the eastern coast. Shipping companies Australian States and ports have played approval for a crew member to visit a were forced to change port rotations and doctor became almost impossible. their part in making things more difcult schedules so that their ports of call in than they need to be. Australia would fall outside the 14 day Quarantines and crew changes window. Shipping companies were also There has been an increase in bureaucracy. When Federal and State/Territory concerned about incurring days of delay. Ships’ masters and agents have been authorities instituted mandatory 14 day Shipping companies have considerable bills required to report the status of crew quarantine periods for travellers, domestic to pay in terms of wages, stores, supplies health to various actors, including the and international mariners began to be and fuel, all of which can come to a cost of Australian Border Force, the Department of thrown into quarantine. Crew-changes about $25,000 per day of delay. Agriculture, port authorities, and pilotage became difcult, if not impossible. companies. That carries a price of time, Maritime Safety Queensland quickly In a New South Wales incident, a tug crew cost and work efort. The more serious amended its policies in response to that delivered a boat from Queensland was consequences of COVID-19 are that safety industry feedback and to evidence about put into quarantine, though on appeal they has potentially been compromised, freight the evolving situation. It progressively were allowed to travel home. Marine pilots has been delayed and crew changes made eased restrictions on shipping. But from Tasmania who worked in other States virtually impossible because of restrictions. that easing was not followed by all port were unable to go home. In New South authorities around the country. COVID-19 and the early regulatory Wales, an on-signing seafarer was forced actions Act quickly… amend repeatedly into quarantine for 14 days upon arrival at Sydney Airport. By the time the seafarer COVID-19 was frst reported to the Governments around the world responded was let out of quarantine, his ship had World Health Organization (WHO) on 31 to the escalating threat of COVID-19 already sailed from Australia. December 2019. The frst Australian case by slamming doors shut. Australia’s was thought to have occurred in Victoria in national border was shut on 20 March. Western Australia produced a lengthy (and late January. By 30 January, the disease Western Australia, the Northern Territory, complex) seafarer’s class exemption to its was declared by the WHO as a Public Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia border closures in early April. However, Health Emergency of International Concern. also closed their borders. it had a nasty barb – seafarers have to undergo a 14 day quarantine even when On Saturday 1 February, Australia’s Federal While governments were quick to introduce they were merely transiting Western Government announced that foreign border restrictions they didn’t always Australia to get to/from their ship or airport. nationals would not be allowed to enter allow, or adequately allow, for the essential In one case, a full 20-person of-signing Australia for up to 14 days after they left or movement of freight-related workers, crew was forced into 13 days of isolation in transited through mainland China. especially maritime crew. a hotel at a near $85,000 cost, even though The rationale behind the “14 day rule” Western Australia created a succession they had already done 13 days of isolation is that the median incubation period for of legally complex border-crossing on their ship. They were intending to leave SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes the rules. Firstly, the rules were not easy to their ship and near-immediately depart COVID-19 illness) is about fve days. understand on a simple reading, secondly, Australia by air. However, a substantial number of people they often restricted the vital ability of At the time of writing, it seems that these will develop the illness later than that shipping crew changeovers, and thirdly, concerns are beginning to ease, with most median point. A tiny minority of people they were open to radically diferent jurisdictions in Australia now providing (about one per cent) even develop the interpretations. Shipping Australia even extensive rules allowing for crews to cross illness after 14 days. heard from members that local police their borders without a 14 day quarantine. forces in remote locations had adopted Meanwhile, by 6 February, Maritime Safety But it is not a uniform set of rules across their own interpretations of rules, which led Queensland had issued a directive (with the country. efect 1 February) instructing ships to not to increased bureaucracy, complications, enter Queensland pilotage waters until costs and delay. Western Australia still mandates a 14 day quarantine in all circumstances. The 14 days had elapsed since the ship’s last Meanwhile, early one Saturday morning in Northern Territory has a mandatory 14-day departure from a Chinese port. That was late March, the New South Wales Health quarantine for seafarers who get of a ship followed over the weeks, by a series of Minister, Brad Hazzard, issued a maritime outside of the Territory, and who then travel rule amendments and alterations. On quarantine order to prevent crew or shore- to the Territory to join a ship. 2 February, the Port Authority of New side personnel from unnecessarily getting South Wales issued a prohibition on its on or of ships. Although the order had a New South Wales and Victoria have not maritime pilots from providing services to broad exemption for anyone carrying out yet issued any exemptions at all, which commercial cargo vessels that had left a necessary business, local on-the-ground is a problem, as most international fights
32 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 terminate in Sydney or Melbourne. physically isolating them from the general year in advance. Alphaliner notes that Shipping Australia has heard of at least one public (by, for instance, hiring coaches). several large carriers now have Z-Scores on-signing seafarer who, upon hearing that In early May, the International Maritime indicative of a high risk of insolvency, restrictions were being eased, rushed to Organization issued an extensive set of while others could come under pressure if book a fight to join a ship in Queensland. framework protocols to governments to cargo demand is reduced for a long time. He had to be dissuaded – with some cover this exact situation. Carriers with high debt leverage ratios and urgency – as his only Australian arrival Commercial consequences high levels of short-term debt, or with track option was Sydney Airport. records of negative earnings, are said by Although the health crisis has been running It didn’t have to be this way. South Alphaliner to be “especially vulnerable”. for just under six months, we are still in the Australia is both notable and commendable early days of the economic crisis. Early Around the world, global carriers have been because it introduced a simple broad- indications are that global shipping lines are responding by either suspending services, brush exemption for freight workers, and it being challenged. aligned its rules with the Australian Border blanking sailings, or combining loops. Force rules on crew changes. Back in late January and early February, Operators have also reduced capacity there was a downturn in cargo volumes by returning chartered ships. Some liner A global problem from China. Production volumes had companies have begun opting for Asia- At the time of writing this article, an inability fallen because COVID-19 had made large Europe route via the Cape of Good Hope, to change crews has become a global numbers of people sick and the Chinese rather than Suez, owing to excess capacity, problem, with about 150,000 seafarers government had locked down large parts a lack of demand, cheaper bunker fuel and, trapped at sea. of the country. The Chinese New Year of course, no Canal fees. holidays reduced volumes too. Blank As Shipping Australia has pointed out in sailings followed the decline in cargo Looking forward, renowned maritime letters to State and Territory Premiers, volumes. economics guru Dr Martin Stopford, seafarers who are forced to stay for concluded in a late April white paper that over-long periods at sea may begin to Now liner shipping demand has reduced the “pandemic will lead to some sort of experience family distress, emotional around the world as economies go into recession”. In the best case scenario, he disturbance, mental illness, and personal lockdown. Falling volumes of cargo predicted a couple of difcult years ahead injury. They are likely to become have caused the amount of inactive followed by a return to normal of about fatigued, which is concerning because containership capacity to increase to 3.2 per cent a year. But don’t breathe a seafarer fatigue is widely recognised as a levels never previously seen. International sigh of relief. His worst case scenario contributing factor in marine casualties of container shipping analyst Alphaliner, has all kinds. forecast that the inactive container levels envisages a deep economic downturn and will breach the three million TEU mark. persistent problems. That would see a 15 The legitimate needs of health protection per cent fall in seaborne economic trade by can be provided through sensible control There are fears that global liner shipping 2024, followed by miserly growth for years measures such as medical testing prior to companies are carrying an increased afterward. getting on a fight to Australia, providing insolvency risk. One predictor of corporate transiting personnel with protective insolvency is the Altman Z-Score, which Only time will truly tell how global shipping equipment such as facemasks, and is said to be highly accurate up to a industry will be afected.
SERVING AUSTRALIAN PORTS SINCE 1984
www.asiaworld.com.au
ex Europe, Far East Asia and USA Australian agents for Spliethoff Breakbulk & dry bulk cargo Amsterdam Steel, machinery, projects, super yachts, imo cargoes, Sydney: + 61 2 9906 6372 paper & forest products Brisbane: + 61 7 3839 4235 Melbourne: + 61 3 9866 6955 Over 50 modern geared (up to 1,400 mt) multi-purpose, Fremantle: + 61 8 9335 3800 box shaped vessels Adelaide: + 61 8 8447 7855
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 33 THE SCENE
Ken Fitzpatrick, Asiaworld
Qube Logistics wins SAL NSW Golf Day 2020 Shipping Australia members from across New South Wales braved the weather to meet on Wednesday, 4 March at the scenic Coast Golf Course at Little Bay for the 2020 Industry Golf Day. Heavy rain in the morning cleared by midday to give perfect mild golfng weather. It was lightly overcast, and at times sunny throughout the afternoon. Eleven teams took part, enjoying a light lunch on arrival, followed by an exceptional afternoon’s golf and on-course beverages. All teams were back in the Club House in four and a half hours, to fnish of the day with a few drinks and an excellent meal. Allan Ball, Anurag Aggarwal, Clinton Evans and In a tightly contested event, the team from Qube Logistics Leo James, Hapag Lloyd won the day and took out the coveted Shipping Australia NSW Golf Trophy. Qube Logistics’ four-man team included Newton Te Wao, Nathan Mills, Damian Wilson and Russell Webb. Second place was taken by the Antares Marine team and third place went to the SAL mixed team. Shipping Australia would like to thank our fabulous sponsors, whose generous support made a great day possible. Sponsors included: Hutchison Ports Australia, AsiaWorld Shipping Services, Qube Logistics and Smit Lamnalco.
Matt Stapleton, Sydney Rail Services; Jarrod Graham, Hutchison Ports; Scott Lovatt, Scott Lovatt Container Cartage; John Vlahadamis, Hutchinson Ports
Jake Jakobsson, Glenn Patterson, Phillip Baillie and John Kris Kennedy, Tony Cousins and David Feathers, Smit Lamnalco Buckingham, Collinson Forex A view of the course and clubhouse at the Coast Golf Club, Little Bay
Joe Attanasio and Joe Falco, Nordiko; Rene Stuckert and John Bonsor, AIS Brokers Mark Todd, Asiaworld Shipping Services
John van Pelt, Inchcape Shipping Services; Rod Nairn, Shipping Australia and Ashley Street, Inchcape Shipping Services
2020 SAL NSW Golf Day winners. From left Newton Te Wao (in Viktor Timev and Wayne Mondy, Wilhelmsen 2020 SAL NSW GolfAutumn Day /winners, Winter 2020 Qube I ShippingTeam - Newton Australia Te Limited Wao, 35 front), Nathan Mills, Damian Wilson and Russell Webb. Ships Service Nathan Mills, Damian Wilson and Russell Webb DANGEROUS GOODS
Reform needed to save lives, ships and cargo
related devices. Other goods are more commonly referred to as the “Dangerous Editor’s note: obviously potentially dangerous and Goods Declaration,” or DGD for short. include such things as swimming pool The document bears the mandatory Stefan Gielen of MSC Belgium, chemicals, freworks or fuel. won the 2019 FONASBA Young dangerous goods details, the shipper’s Ship Agent/Ship Broker of the Stefan takes a broad approach and declaration (which afrms that the Year award for his paper entitled considers goods as “dangerous” if they package is properly packed and labelled are listed in the IMDG Code. for transport) and the container packing “Crusade towards correct certifcate. Dangerous Goods declarations – a The transport of dangerous goods is comprehensive overview of the a serious business, given the obvious The DGD should provide the UN current document fow”. risks. There is a long, and alas, Number, the proper shipping name, lengthening, list of ships that have the primary hazard, the subsidiary It was described by the Award been damaged or destroyed because hazard, and the packing group in that Review Committee Chairman, of inaccurate or non-identifcation of order. As in, for example, “UN 2761, FONASBA Past President and dangerous goods. Organochlorine pesticide, solid, toxic, (Aldrin 19 per cent), class 6.1, PG III, Honorary Member, Gunnar J Yet this serious business is still subject MARINE POLLUTANT”. Heinonen, as being “an excellent, to an archaic document fow. That is, intelligent, informative and if they are even reported at all. This Stefan notes that “in the feld we see forward-looking analysis, spotting paper points out that, to the best of that a great deal of the DGDs are not and analysing the problems of his knowledge as at mid- to late-2019, following the mandatory sequence”. no study had ever incorporated the Dangerous Goods declarations. It Don’t do and re-do data entry was well set out, well referenced document fow of dangerous goods into a single overview and subsequently Stefan looked at several diferent and provided much food for provided an explanation for undeclared scenarios for the fow of freight, thought for the challenges of future dangerous goods. information, and accompanying paper. development”. Each scenario becomes progressively A quick refresher on the legal more complex as more and more Shipping Australia is pleased to framework present the following summary of parties, such as freight forwarders and All seaborne dangerous goods transport consolidators, are added to the chain. Stefan’s paper which provides a is regulated by the IMDG Code, which Details difer between scenarios but useful insight into how the transport is subject to amendment every two there are several common problems, of dangerous goods can be made, years. It is an on-going review process, mostly relating to data entry. well, less dangerous. allowing adaptation in response to There is a really important point to make evolving technological and economic here. Data entry and proof-reading is developments in the shipping industry. a really lousy system for, er, data entry The code has seven chapters, with and proofreading. detailed procedures for the transport of As the global transport of goods has dangerous goods. Stefan quotes Barchard and Pace, increased over the last few decades, researchers who conducted an A shipper must choose the correct “UN so too has the transport of dangerous experiment in 2011 when 195 Number” when shipping dangerous goods. By 2001 researchers had undergraduates were randomly assigned goods, and the appropriate packing already found that 50 per cent of all to three data entry methods: double must be selected. Packaging should goods shipped could be classifed as entry, visual checking, and single entry. dangerous. And 10 per cent to 15 per bear correct markings and labels. A cent of containerised shipments could handler or observer should always be They came to the staggering fnding also be classifed as dangerous. able to identify the danger inside the that visual checking resulted in 2958 package without undertaking the risk per cent more errors than double entry. Dangerous goods include such everyday of opening the package or the shipping Visual checking was not signifcantly items as deodorants, sparkling water container. Finally, a transport document better than single entry. A later 2013 out of a water dispenser and safety- needs to be completed and it is study by Barchard and Verenikina,
36 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 Confusing dangerous goods codes contributed to the fre onboard Maersk Honam Image: Indian Coast Guard
confrmed the previous fndings. with each extra party in the chain. a phone will know, there is more Smaller freight forwarders, for instance, than ample scope for error in verbal Transmitting the data might not be able or willing to commit transmission of data. There are multiple stakeholders who hefty amounts of capital setting up And, fnally, there is the common in-feld expect to send and receive full and comprehensive interfaces between practice of provisional and fnal DGDs. correct declarations of dangerous goods diferent communications systems. Shippers will often provide a provisional transport. The shipper may have an Freight forwarders may well end up DGD because the container number is electronic data interchange system, or it manually re-keying information from the may instead enter the relevant data via shipper, opening the way to more manual not known at the time of booking. Only a website or some kind of software app. errors, and then for onward transmission after the container has been stufed, will Onward transmission of data to ships, into the chain. all the data be delivered. But the weight the authorities and terminals all derive and number of packages, and loaded UN “EDI shows potential, yet it’s not fully from the initial shipper-supplied set of Numbers could difer from the original integrated in the chain and moreover not information, which is often manually re- DGD that was used by the ship agent to between all stakeholders,” Stefan points entered. make the booking. Stefan points out that out. discrepancies between the provisional So, for instance, the data is often not And then there is the possibility of and fnal DGD are “currently only found shared, or not share fully, between freight consolidation. The shipper by performing a visual inspection”. government agencies. Shippers end will provide documents such as the up manually re-entering the same data And we know from the research DGD and the packing list to the freight multiple times for diferent agencies by Barchard et al how good visual consolidator, which will gather up as-yet or departments, which increases the inspections are at picking up errors i.e. un-containerised cargo in its warehouse. likelihood of mistakes. not very. It will stuf the cargo into the container, Meanwhile, transmission of information marking and placarding the container Maritime accidents may fow from from shipper to agent may be insufcient accordingly, and it will sign the container honest mistakes or incompatible with the latter’s packing certifcate. All the DGDs from Stefan acknowledges that there is the system. The agent must rely on the the various shippers, along with the possibility that shippers may deliberately DGD to manually add the missing container packing certifcate, are sent to not correctly declare dangerous goods. data to the booking, again raising the the ship agent… who manually enters all He notes it is in violation of the law but possibility of manual error. A lack of the data and transmits it to other parties it is also outside the scope of his paper. standard, mandatory form complicates in the supply chain. Focusing on the ‘honest mistake’, Stefan recognisability and readability, Sometimes data is missing or illegible, notes research from the US Coast Guard thereby increasing the chance of and one party in the chain will phone Research and Development Center in misinterpretation. another and will verbally ask for that 2000, which concluded that human The problems increase, or are replicated, data. As anyone who has ever used error is the cause or major contributor in
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 37 provided by a shipper even though it in multimodal transport, which is an is the wrong number for that particular important feature in the electronic data shipment. interchange process, along with a lack of system interoperability. Information technology – users, policy, standards “With every stakeholder adopting his IT applications independently from Manual data entry and visual verifcation the others in the chain, they may have is a tool that produces pretty bad results. diferent separate ICT applications, Information technology should be an provided by various technology service obvious solution, especially as advanced providers thus making communication information technology is spreading even more difcult (incompatible),” throughout ocean shipping. Stefan writes. “Yet dangerous cargo documentation A recent study concluded that close remains a blind spot,” Stefan writes, collaboration between stakeholders noting that “the majority” of stakeholders in the shipping industry still operate with is required, and there is a clear manual handling and re-entry of paper responsibility for the public sector to documents. Further, “many of them” create an environment where the private are still working with mainframe systems sector engage in collaboration, the paper dating back to the 1960s. notes. Stefan Gieslen There are several sets of reasons why. Recommendations The frst set is user-related. 75 per cent to 96 per cent of maritime Stefan considers that local, national, incidents. More recent research, in 2018, One reason simply relates to the fact and unilateral top-down enforcement, identifed human error as a signifcant that getting multiple people to do either won’t work or would be counter- factor in the transport of dangerous anything in a uniform and consistent productive. goods. way is difcult. Dangerous goods data Humans are the problem. And the needs to pass around each and every Researchers have found numerous only way to get humans out of the way, participant. Meanwhile, one study reasons why humans make mistakes: Stefan reckons, is through a “very close noted that there are diferent levels of poor training, carelessness, sustainable co-operation between all information technology penetration. That indiference, fatigue, inattention, lack private and public stakeholders, on an means every stakeholder has adopted of communication, inadequacies in international level”. the organisation, inappropriate repair, its own information technology systems at a diferent scale, which leads to low He urges participants in the supply operator error, non-compliance with chain to initiate standardisation and work procedures, non-compliance with levels of compatibility between diferent systems. A further user-related reason harmonisation. Stefan notes initiatives occupational safety rules and many such as the formation of the Digital more, have all been identifed. is that supply chain stakeholders have diferent sizes and adopting compatible Container Shipping Association. But there may well be a deeper reason. information technology infrastructure is a “These initiatives should be openly Stefan quotes research from 2005 “big investment”. supported and encouraged by public which indicates that “while human stakeholders,” he urges. errors are all too often blamed on Another set of reasons is policy-related. ‘inattention’ or ‘mistakes’ on the part International ocean shipping Meanwhile, he makes the bold claim of the operator, more often than not is associated with multimodal that the training received by shore-side they are symptomatic of deeper and transportation, “which means local, personnel in accordance with part of the more complicated problems in the total regional and international regulations International Maritime Dangerous Goods maritime system”. need to be followed”. Meanwhile, Code is “defcient”. He argues that all Researchers talk of the overall and regulations are subject to the transport- stakeholders should appoint a dangerous complex human-error-overview, which is type. goods safety advisor. The duties of comprised of interactions between the that advisor would be to facilitate the For instance, Stefan points to multi- activities of the appointing stakeholder “environment”, “human characteristics”, modal dangerous goods transport from and “function”. in accordance with the applicable somewhere in the European Union to the requirements, and in the safest way Environmental factors include the United States. In the European Union, possible. The advisor should follow weather, noises in the ofce and time the transport would be frst subject to a mandatory course of training and constraints, among other things. Human the national laws of the member state, examination every fve years to stay up- characteristics include such matters then they would also be subject to a to-date and to prove their knowledge. as declining concentration through the diferent set of rules for road, train and day, sickness, and fatigue. Then there inland waterways. Seaborne transport are well known issues such as high- would then see the goods subject to the quality education, training and use of international maritime dangerous goods modern equipment. One interesting code and then, upon arrival in the United psychological factor is the “availability States, they would be subject to the heuristic”, which can be thought of, in Code of Federal Regulation. rough layman’s terms, as unconscious A third set of reasons is technology- mental shortcuts. So, for instance, a standards related. ship agent under time pressure might accidentally re-use a UN Number There is a lack of homogenous standards
38 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 The best ft is the one tailored for you
Bespoke services to help you stand out With 14 strategically located offces, GAC Australia has what it takes to serve your shipping needs for all types of cargoes and vessels, at all ports and offshore terminals throughout the country. From traditional ship agency to specialised services for bunkers, husbandry and crews, we measure and match our services to create the best ft for your business strategy. Our continuous investment in new services and technologies keeps you buttoned up to stay ahead of competitors.
gac.com/australia
Gulf Agency Company (Australia) Pty Ltd T: +61 02 8028 2400 F: +61 02 9279 0457 E: [email protected]
Our offces: Sydney (Main Offce) I Port Kembla I Melbourne I Adelaide I Fremantle I Dampier I Port Hedland I Darwin I Townsville I Mackay I Gladstone I Brisbane I Newcastle I Geelong
fb.com/GACgroup linkedin.com/company/gac-group NAVIGATION
Roebuck Bay grounding - fndings identify lack of training, and human error
By JIM WILSON
Human interaction with the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) was at the heart of a cutter grounding on a coral reef, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has found.
It is a fnding of international interest, as the global use of the navigation system ECDIS has been mandated by the International Maritime Organization. There have been several other similar groundings around the world, but by merchant ships. These include: Kea Trader, Muros, Universal Durban, Nova Cura, Ovit and CFL Performer. Cutter Roebuck Bay in the foreground; in the background Image: Australian Border Force As the ATSB points out in its is the patrol vessel Cape Jervis. investigation report, groundings have had “recurring themes”. The master reviewed and amended Fortunately, no-one was injured. But Concerns tend to relate to human- the plan and, in so doing, he laid a the cutter was unseaworthy because machine interaction. These include passage right across Henry Reef. It of the grounding and had to be training-related issues, lack of is a charted reef east of the Cape salvaged. knowledge of symbols and the ability York peninsula, about 480 kilometres Cause of the grounding to disable alarms. to the south-west of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, and about The version of ECDIS installed on Australia’s grounding: ABFC 563 kilometres to the north west of the Roebuck Bay at the time of the Roebuck Bay Cairns. grounding simultaneously carried out The Australian cutter was the Jump forward in time to about two checks: one for errors with route Australian Border Force vessel, 12:25am on 30 September, when the planning, and the other for dangers to Roebuck Bay. Back in September cutter was travelling at roughly 16 navigation on the route. 2017, the cutter was tasked with knots. The check of the planned passage for a patrol out of Cairns, north to the route-validity (such as issues with the Torres Strait and back again. “The bridge team felt a bump and a shuddering sensation through the turn radius of the vessel) highlighted On 26 September 2017, near the cutter’s hull. Almost immediately any errors with a yellow-coloured maritime border with Papua New after, ABFC Roebuck Bay abruptly “errors” tab. A route in error will not Guinea, the cutter master reviewed a grounded on Henry Reef and came be accepted by ECDIS. Dangers passage plan back to Cairns that the to a complete stop,” the ATSB report are not checked for by the route navigation ofcer had worked out. says. validation process.
40 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 The route-dangers safety check for danger. They did, however, report, an But that still would not have saved hazards to navigation posed by the immediate awareness of the isolated Roebuck Bay because the cutter master planned passage was highlighted danger when they cross-checked it with had ordered the silencing of audible under the separate “dangers” tab. So, the paper chart. alarms to prevent alarm fatigue and to the “errors” and the “dangers” did not prevent ofcers being distracted during “This symbology and colour was appear in the same place in the software. their watch-keeping. familiar to them (probably due to their ECDIS also allowed the crew to save considerably longer use of paper charts The ATSB also found that the Roebuck a route that it had identifed as being in their careers)…,” the ATSB noted. Bay was not using the most-up-to-date dangerous. version of the software and that the crew Forward alerts When the cutter master had earlier did not have an adequate knowledge of checked the passage plan, he corrected ECDIS is normally set to “look-ahead” by ECDIS, owing to inefective training by a turn-radius error, which was highlighted 15 minutes on the passage plan, every Border Force. by the route validation process in 30 seconds. The ECDIS was normally yellow on the “errors” tab. The set to scan for hazards by a breadth correction caused the “error” message of up to 20 metres. The ABF added to disappear. But neither the master another 20 metres as a safety feature. nor the navigation ofer checked the However, the ABF had reduced the look- “dangers” tab because they thought the ahead time to three minutes. And, the route validation process also checked for ATSB found, the furthest physical parts dangers, which it did not. The crew also of large hazards to navigation, such as incorrectly thought that ECDIS would not Henry Reef, might not coincide with the accept a dangerous route. location of the isolated danger symbol on Confusion with symbols ECDIS. So, when ECDIS looked ahead in the software, the isolated danger sign Another problem was the “isolated might be a considerable distance away, danger symbol” which is well-known even though the outermost reaches and well-marked on Australian paper of the physical object were nearby. A charts as a green, fve-pointed star. On considerably larger look-out zone of that version of ECDIS, the symbol is a up to 185 metres would have enabled purple circle with a white cross. Neither ECDIS to spot the danger. the navigator nor the master immediately recognised the purple circle with a It could have then warned the crew that white cross, as a symbol for an isolated there was a danger to navigation.
Supporting you ALL THE WAY with your Supply Chain needs
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 41 EMISSIONS Carbon-free ship propulsion by 2050
By CHRISTOPHER SKINNER*
There is no doubt that maritime shipping a special feature on the future of power3, crystalised into a goal to reduce carbon will continue to provide cost-efective covering the more general discussions on emissions to zero by 2050, covering both transportation of bulk and voluminous community-wide approaches to reduce industrial and personal activity, as well as cargoes for the indefnite future. The ocean reliance on coal and gas, both LNG and from other sources, such as agriculture. and maritime waterways provide an almost LPG, and the possible adoption of nuclear The rapid investment in wind power maintenance-free transportation surface. power. The range of viewpoints on the turbines, and solar power sources both But of the ships themselves that ply these economics of investment needed. The industrial scale or domestic dwelling, global maritime commons, there are post-decommissioning of nuclear reactors allied with power storage in batteries or changes in train that must be considered versus renewable systems of wind or sola other means, has been dramatic. Similar well in advance. plus energy storage, are prominent in the investment in the several bases for mobility civil debate. has been less striking, with electric road Of these changes, that of energy source vehicles leading the transition. Carbon- is a primary factor subject to signifcant Current energy sources for ship free aircraft have been experimented using changes in the foreseeable future. Fossil propulsion electric power, but without long-term fuels are being phased out over the next At present merchant ships mostly run on commitment. This leaves shipping as the thirty years or so, to realise the goal of diesel fuel for high speed diesel propulsion, most likely domain for major change. zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and a much smaller number, mainly naval and that thirty-year lead-time will be barely The ultimate choices for Ship Propulsion ships, run on gas turbine prime movers sufcient to convert shipping to acceptable requiring aviation fuel. The more advanced The most promising substitute for sources of energy. If we set aside wind navies of the world have ships and fossil fuels is hydrogen, which may be power for sailing as too slow, and solar submarines with nuclear propulsion. There provisioned as a compressed gas, in liquid power for electric energy as only suited have also been nuclear-propelled non- form at very low temperatures, but most for short-distance operation, such as river combatant ships built but were expensive likely as ammonia in liquid form at room ferries, we are left with hydrogen power via to build and to operate such that nuclear temperatures, and easily transportable in fuel cells or in internal combustion engines, propulsion has been avoided, as long as road tankers or in fuel barges. and nuclear propulsion. As an interim there was ready access to diesel engine step from fuel oil, we are seeing adoption For high performance ships, such as fuel for economical propulsion. This will of liquefed natural gas (LNG) which has high capability naval vessels and high- not always be so. reduced emissions compared with oil and performance cargo vessels, nuclear coal, and investigation of synthetic fuels. Even the change to LNG fuel is a propulsion is an option that may well prove signifcant process that is only now gaining to be cost competitive with hydrogen, This article examines some of the factors momentum, with major recapitalisation of and defnitely capable of higher power afecting the transition from oil fuel and shipping feets involved. operation. LPG to hydrogen in most cases, and nuclear propulsion for high transit speed The October 2019, Marine Power & Hydrogen or ammonia ships and vessels with special roles, such Propulsion supplement to The Naval The term ‘Hydrogen economy’ is becoming as high performance naval and merchant Architect carried a series of articles widely used to signify the period post-fossil ships, such as cruise liners and perishable on alternative fuels for ship propulsion fuels and much attention has been given to or high value cargo ships. and battery power for ships. Many hydrogen production and distribution. developmental projects are underway in Previous articles in this magazine have Europe and China, and these will infuence covered a number of the aspects of the In 2004 a paper published in the Journal more general ship propulsion investment transition that is the focus of this article. of Power Sources reported ‘The Future over the coming decade or two. The John Pagni discussed his vision of marine role of hydrogen is being addressed in a closely related research and development fuels after 20201 and in the same issue, the national study commissioned this year in marine engine design was also discussed more general implications of changes to by the federal government. Work at the with several case studies. be expected from global challenges arising University of Queensland is also addressing full-cycle analysis of hydrogen production, from the United Nations’ target of cutting The Imperative for a future free of transport, storage and utilisation for both greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in half by carbon emissions 20502. stationary and transport applications. The universal concern over a concerted There is a modest but growing amount of The following issue of this magazine carried response to limit global warming has university research in fuel cells in Australia,
1 Pagni, John. ‘Marine fuels after 2020 – visions of things to come’ Shipping Australia Limited Magazine, Autumn – Winter 2019. Pp18-19 2 Pagni, John. ‘Maritime gears up to meet new global challenge’. Op.cit. Pp12-17 3 Special Correspondent. ‘The future of power’. Shipping Australia Limited Magazine, Spring - Summer 2019. Pp14f
42 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 and an increasing interest from industry. Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited [CFCL] has a leading position in planar solid oxide fuel cell [SOFC] technology, which is being developed for a variety of applications…’4 Writing in The Naval Architect, Dr Santiago Suarez de la Fuente describes a scenario- based study by University College London, into the likely scenarios to achieve 100 per cent decarbonization of shipping by 2050.5 This article included the fgure illustrating their conclusion on the overwhelming role of ammonia [NH3] in shipping fuels. Nuclear propulsion Vergara and McKesson in their paper, ‘Nuclear Propulsion in High-Performance Cargo Vessels’, ‘demonstrates the economic viability of nuclear propulsion as an alternative power source for a high- speed cargo ship using the FastShip as a case study.’6 In a previous issue of this magazine the generic case for nuclear power in Australia Fuel mix evolution for the global feet to decarbonise the shipping sector by 2020 was made by Dr John Harries of the Australian Nuclear Association, in his article is impractical for ships due to the need for will be employed beyond the current shift on the case for nuclear power in 20197. dry-docking while the refueling takes place. to LNG, include synthetic fuels in which A normal cycle for naval nuclear-powered the carbon content is contained in a closed However, the case for nuclear propulsion is vessels is every 12 years. cycle, hydrogen as a gas or compounded more compelling than the case for nuclear in ammonia liquid and nuclear. Nuclear power stations in that renewable energy Implications for Australia propulsion is only likely to be adopted for sources are not applicable for shipping. For Australia, the most likely frst high performance ships for naval and high- Even though there have been wind-driven application of nuclear power will be for propulsion prototypes and there are speed commercial services. propulsion in the next class of submarines practical electric powered ships for short- to be acquired after the current Attack haul applications, for oceanic voyages Class programme. For the nuclear these are not practical. submarines, assuming they would be For nuclear propulsion, the fuel is prepared mostly assembled in Australia, it is from uranium ore so that it can be handled conceivable that the nuclear reactor section safely and will function for long periods of the pressure hull will be imported from a in the reactor, where it experiences very friendly country which would also provide high bombardment with neutrons in an the initial nuclear fuel to be installed at the environment of high temperatures and building site in Osborne, South Australia, pressures. As the fuel is undergoing for example. nuclear fssion to generate heat, it also generates waste products, and the useful Australian port operations fuel is gradually depleted. Ultimately the Movement of new nuclear fuel to, and depleted fuel must be replaced with new spent fuel away from the nuclear refueling/ fuel, and the removed spent fuel then defueling port will require a safety stored for several years in cooling ponds case to be approved by the Australian to allow the heat from residual radiation Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety to dissipate. Finally, the depleted fuel Agency (ARPANSA). This will afect is transported to a reprocessing facility South Australian ports for the building from which some useful fuel is recovered, and refueling in Osborne and for an Eyre and the balance of radioactive waste Peninsula pot to handle radioactive waste material transported for geologically stable containers from the reprocessing of spent underground disposal. fuel to be placed in the Kimba repository. The refueling of nuclear-powered ships is Conclusions necessary unless highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel is used, and this is precluded The International Maritime Organization by the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is well aware of the implications of the restricting the availability of weapons- UN goal to halve 2008 greenhouse gas grade radioactive materials such as HEU or emissions by 2050, and there are a number plutonium. of projects under development to achieve * Christopher Skinner is the editor, “Nuclear Propulsion carbon elimination from ship propulsion. Roadmap for Australia®” and currently treasurer of the Refueling a civil power station is typically Submarine Institute of Australia. He can be contacted at undertaken every 18 to 24 months, but this In terms of ship propulsion, the fuels that +61-414-990-834 [email protected]
4 Dicks, A.L. et al. ‘Fuel cells, hydrogen and energy supply in Australia’ Journal of Power Sources, Vol 131, Issues 1-2, 14 May 2004. Pp 1-12 5 De la Fuente, Santiago Suarez. ‘Green ambition: solutions and investment for a decarbonized future’. The Naval Architect, RINA. January 020. Pp 28-31 6 Vergara, Julio A. & Chris R. McKesson. ‘Nuclear Propulsion in High-Performance Cargo Vessels’. Marine Technology. 2002 7 Harries, John. ‘The case for nuclear power – reliable, afordable and low carbon electricity’. Shipping Australia Limited magazine, Spring-Summer 2019. Pp20-21
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 43 WOOL
The wool and shipping industries - a long history
By PETER MORGAN, executive director, Australian Council of Wool Exporters and Processors Inc.
Wool forms an integral part It yielded over $3.8 billion in export 1980’s, but collapsed in the turbulence of Australia’s history. While income in 2018/19, when much of of the late 1980’s/early 1990’s that Australia was in drought and production is associated with the events at Australia no longer “rides on the was down. The average price at Tiananmen Square. Its importance sheep’s back”, wool continues auction that year was about $12 per recovered through the second half as one of Australia’s principal kilogram of greasy wool; (or $2,140 of the 1990’s and continues to do so agricultural export industries, per bale). Very good prices. Prices today. The wool, textile industries and have been more fragile this season, other fbres, have played a major role together with beef, dairy and particularly in the recent weeks of in the economic development of China wheat (and other grains). COVID-19. The average price per over the last 30 years. bale to mid-April was $1,680, partly 32 per cent by weight of Australia’s due to the impact of COVID 19 related wool exports went to China in issues in Australia’s export destination 1999/2000. This had risen to 67 per countries and partly due to other market cent by 2007; and to 78 per cent in related issues. But, still a good price in 2010 after the Global Financial Crisis historical terms. in 2008. The fgure has pushed close Export importance to 80 per cent since then, but generally remains around 78 per cent. Like many of Australia’s agricultural industries, wool is primarily an export The Chinese dominance is emphasised industry, with over 95 per cent by the volumes going to second placed of Australia’s wool now exported India (5.9 per cent by weight last year) for processing. Australia’s export and Italy (4.6 per cent by weight). destinations are many and varied. Their Fourth and ffth places are flled by relative importance has also varied over the Czech Republic (3.6 per cent) and the years, commencing with the critical South Korea (2.4 per cent). demand for wool from the wool textile Logistics factories of Yorkshire in Great Britain, in the frst half of the 19th Century. The cost of transport has always been Demand later expanded to include important. It is a long way from a farm countries in Western Europe, Eastern in the central parts of New South Wales Europe, Asia and the United States. In or Queensland, to the nearest wool the last 50 years we have seen Japan selling centre or port. become the most important destination Many have seen old photos of wool in the 1960’s, 70’s and early 80’s, to be bales, one either side of a camel; or followed by the former USSR (together stacked on horse drawn drays or early with other Eastern European countries), trucks; or more recently on B-Double in the second half of the 1980’s up until trucks and trailers. The associated the collapse of the Berlin wall. The improvements in roads means that Eastern European countries grew in virtually all wool is now carted direct importance from the 1970’s through the by road from farm to port-side wool 1980’s. stores, whereas the use of rail was quite common up to 40 or 50 years People’s Republic of China ago. In the case of rail, most deliveries China’s importance as a destination fnished on a spur line beside a wool was growing in the second half of the store that allowed the wool bales to
44 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 be of-loaded direct to the wool store. Many will have heard the old adage that wool bales were designed to ft “one on either side of a camel”. They weighed around 100 kilograms in those days, when pressing wool into the bales had a large manual component. The use of hydraulic presses over the last 40 years has enabled bale weights of around 178 kilograms to The wool and become the norm, which has contributed to more efcient use of trucks and of container space for transportation. Wool packs are made of nylon; are approximately 70 centimetres by 70 centimetres across shipping industries the top and bottom and 98 centimetres in length; and are little diferent in size since the early days of the industry. Even when pressed to higher unit - a long history weights, wool bales are a relatively low density product. Prior to the use of containerisation, most wool bales Wool bales awaiting shipment underwent further hydraulic compression (“dumping”) at port side or somewhere near port-side. In those days the individual bales into a 20 foot container with a total Where to from here? “dumped” bales were loaded loosely into net weight of around 20,000 kilograms. Predicting the future is always dangerous. the holds of the cargo ships. As always, procedures change with time. Current wool production levels are at The introduction of containerisation and The greater availability of 40 foot containers historically low levels. The keys to hydraulic fork lifts lead to the development in Australia, and of ground space in successful future wool production will of much more powerful (and expensive) Chinese receival centres, encouraged wool include seasonal climatic conditions, dumps that were capable of “dumping” exporters to China to commence “packing” prices/relative proftability when compared the 178 kilogram bales pressed on farms into “TriPacks” of three bales that were similar numbers of “undumped” bales into with other rural enterprises, ongoing gains strapped together into single units, which 40 foot containers, thus avoiding the cost in productivity, and savings in of-farm were not much bigger than a single bale. It of “dumping” the bales prior to shipment. costs. There are plenty of challenges and is possible to pack 110 to 120 TriPacked This has grown in popularity. plenty of opportunities.
TRUST FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
As an integrated logistics company group based in marine transport, we have made it our corporate principal to contribute to society so that people live well and prosperously.
∙ TANKERS, CAR CARRIER, DRY BULK www.kline.com.au
∙ LOGISTICS www.klinelogistics.com.au
∙ CUSTOMS CLEARANCE www.georgeturnercustoms.com.au
∙ BONDED WAREHOUSE www.supplychainlogistics.net.au
∙ VEHICLE PROCESSING & TRANSPORT www.prixcar.com.au
Level 2, 187 Todd Rd, Port Melbourne VIC 3207 Tel: (03) 9685 6996 Fax: (03) 9685 6986 Email: [email protected]
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 45 WINE COVID-19 sails Australian wine into murky waters
By ANDREAS CLARK, chief executive ofcer, Wine Australia
2020 is shaping up as one of Although not yet complete, it is The total export value for the quarter the most challenging years clear that vintage 2020 is delivering ended 31 March 2020 declined by exceptional quality fruit but yields are 7 per cent compared with the same for Australian wine exports in down, so we anticipate that inventories quarter in the previous year, principally decades. will continue to be depleted. driven by declines in exports to mainland China. Australian export Pleasingly, the average value of value in the month of March 2020 The year opened with devastating Australia’s unpackaged wine exports to China was 43 per cent lower than bushfres in the eastern states but increased by 5 per cent to $1.26 per while individuals, businesses and March 2019, and 14 per cent lower litre – levels not seen since late 2005. than the same quarter in 2019. communities sufered some dreadful This refects the continued demand losses, Wine Australia estimates for Australian wine even in a more Sales data from the UK and USA that losses due to fre and the competitive bulk wine market, and this suggests that while cafes and accompanying scourge of smoke is fowing through to increased returns restaurants have closed and sales damage were around 4 per cent of an for grapegrowers in the critically have been lost, it’s been ofset by average crop or around 60,000 tonnes important inland regions of the people buying more wine for at-home – less than most normal year on year Riverland, Murray Valley and Riverina. consumption. variations. The COVID-19 pandemic will have a According to data analysts IRI But just as winemakers were dusting toll on exports, but due to the patterns Worldwide, wine sales in grocery and themselves of, almost literally in some mass merchandisers in the USA grew cases – COVID-19 began spreading traditionally seen in wine exports and with the situation evolving on a daily by 52 per cent in the week ending 21 through China, prompting the lock March 2020. down of Wuhan and not very long after basis in major markets such as the the whole nation. United Kingdom and the United States There are reports that Australian wine of America, as of April it is too early to is keeping its share amidst this growth, Nobody in the shipping and logistics get an accurate picture. in both the of-trade and online. But industry needs to be told of the impact more reliable information will not be The frst quarter of each calendar year that had on international trade and available until stockpiling calms down. the spreading contagion’s impact on is historically the quietest in terms global transport. of exports, but the slowdown was The UK and Australia went through signifcantly steeper in the frst quarter similar surges and then calmed down. Australian wine exports of 2020. It remains to be seen if wine sales The value of Australian wine exports continued to grow in the 12 months to 31 March 2020, but Wine Australia expects that the full impact of COVID-19 on exports is still to come. During the 12 months to March, total export value increased by 3 per cent over the previous 12 months to $2.87 billion, with a record average value for bottled exports of $7.12 per litre free on board (FOB). Over the same period, total export volume declined by 11 per cent to 728 million litres (81 million 9-litre case equivalents), as there is now less wine available due to lower vintages in 2018 and 2019.
46 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 through of-licence and online balance out the decline in on-premises sales. On the upside, Australia remains well positioned in China. The latest wine import fgures from Global Trade Atlas, for the year ended February 2020, showed total wine imports to China decreased by 17 per cent in value (USD) and 14 per cent in volume. This decline was driven by French bottled imports, down by 39 per cent in value (see Figure 1). Australia’s bottled imports increased by 11 per cent in value and Australia was the only source country not to experience a decline in bottled wine value. Destinations In the 12 months to March 2020, Australian exporters shipped wine to 119 destinations. Northeast and Southeast Asia continued to be the focus of Australian export growth, increasing in value by 11 and 19 per cent respectively. All other regions declined. The top fve destinations by value were: Port Adelaide remains the largest port of There were 1811 companies that loading for wine exports, representing 63 contributed to the growth in exports by • Mainland China, up 15 per cent to per cent of wine shipments sent overseas. either increasing their level of exports or $1.15 billion In line with the overall decline in volume of commencing export. These companies 11 per cent for Australian wine, compared contributed $487 million to the overall • United States of America, down 2 per to the moving annual total (MAT) March growth in exports. There were also 1641 cent to $416 million 2019, volume leaving the South Australian exporters who either decreased their level • United Kingdom, down 10 per cent to port fell by 11 per cent to 458 million litres. of exports or stopped exporting in the $347 million Port Melbourne represented a third (35 per past 12 months. These companies ofset cent) of wine exports in MAT March 2020, the growth in exports by $393 million. • Canada, down 13 per cent to $179 with volume shipped down 9 per cent to Wine Australia continues to issue new million, and 255 million litres. licenses to exporters as countries remain • Singapore, up 20 per cent to $103 Overall, there were 53,404 shipment in lockdown due to Coronavirus, but the million. departures in MAT March 2020, down 4 number is down compared to previous per cent on the previous twelve months, years. In particular, during the March 2020 The top fve destinations by volume were: equating to 4450 shipments on average quarter, these were down 35 per cent, but • United Kingdom, down 9 per cent to each month, from more than 2895 active slightly higher than the number of licenses 219 million litres exporters. issued during Q1 2016. • United States of America, down 11 per cent to 136 million litres • Mainland China, down 11 per cent to 130 million litres • Canada, down 26 per cent to 52 million litres, and • New Zealand, down 8 per cent to 30 million litres. Shipment departures With nearly all (99.8 per cent) of Australia wine exports transported via ship to 128 destinations in 2018, the total amount of wine shipped was 847 million litres, or 2.3 billion litres per day. The value of these shipments was $2.79 billion free on board (FOB). The remaining 0.2 per cent of exports were sent via air transport. This dependency on shipping transport continues to highlight the vital partnership between the shipping industry and the Australian wine community.
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 47 ACHIEVEMENTS
Shipping business student wins Shipping Australia prize!
By JIM WILSON, Shipping Australia
Juan Rodriguez Ortega, a “Shipping Australia warmly throughout the course of the Shipping postgraduate student at the congratulates Juan on his fantastic Australia prize. Australian Maritime College, achievement and we wish him all the “Juan has performed very well best in his future career. Shipping has won a $750 prize from throughout the course and he is Australia is delighted to sponsor a very worthwhile recipient of the Shipping Australia for high the Shipping Australia Prize at the Shipping Australia Prize. AMC is achievement in his studies. Australian Maritime College as part of grateful for the generosity of Shipping our commitment to, and support for, Australia in supporting this prize that Shipping Australia sponsors the Australian maritime industry and recognises the outstanding eforts of the Shipping Australia Prize maritime education in this country,” our students. The prize money helps at the Australian Maritime said Shipping Australia CEO Rod tremendously with expenses such as College, part of the University Nairn. text books and it is invaluable on a student’s CV”. of Tasmania, in support Lee-Anne Britclife, the AMC’s Juan is in the second year of of maritime education in Student Experience liaison manager, the AMC’s Master of Business praised Juan for his high performance Australia. Administration (Advanced) (Maritime and Logistics Management) degree. We chatted with Juan about his outstanding achievement. SAL: Congratulations on winning the Shipping Australia Prize 2020! It’s a great achievement. How do you feel? Juan: It’s always good to feel that your efort is rewarded! It’s great news! SAL: So, what will you do with the prize money? Juan: It’s for my migration into Australia. I’ll use it for paying for my skills assessment. It’s a good use of the money. I want to stay in Australia for at least a couple of years. I’ll try to fnd my frst job here. I don’t know what my dream job is yet. Any maritime-related job really! SAL: How did you end up studying a maritime MBA in Australia? Juan: I’m a civil engineer by background, working in dredging. I have a Bachelor of Civil Engineering
48 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 from the University of Buenos Aires, always been interested in ports and to Sydney, where many Argentinians Argentina. I won a sponsorship with maritime structures too… don’t ask are based. PIANC [the international association me why! SAL: What do you do your spare focused on waterborne infrastructure] SAL: There are lots of places around in Argentina, and I went to Cairns time? the world that you could have studied on a technical visit to PIANC’s a maritime-related MBA. So why Juan: I love diving! I had always 6th Technical Biennial Conference Australia? wanted to go the Great Barrier Reef! 2017, which was held in June. It’s so famous and so bio-diverse. The sponsorship covered fights, Juan: I always wanted to experience There were turtles swimming just accommodation and the event. The study abroad. When I came to next to me. It’s awesome! You can’t sponsorship was based on academic Australia on my sponsorship, I believe it until you’re actually there. merit and the work I was doing at the Iearned about the enormous maritime I got into diving in Thailand in 2013 time. I spent time in a lab in Manly, potential here. So I thought it was a and I did my open water course. I Sydney, in White Bay, and I few to good place. I did my investigations try to dive when I can. It’s one of the Cairns and visited the Great Barrier and I also wanted to do something most beautiful things – it’s like you Reef. It was pretty awesome! The that was not technical because I get to see a whole new world. In great value was in networking with already had that background. The Tasmania, I like kayaking, trekking, engineers from around the world. I AMC is a well-known institution and driving to the beach and to the still talk to them today. Tasmania is a good place to study. There’s a great migration programme mountains. There are lots of climates SAL: What attracted you to civil and Tasmania is afordable. in a short distance. I go to the gym, engineering? run, and hang out with friends. SAL: What have you most enjoyed Juan: I always knew I would study it. about Australia? SAL: If you could travel in time, where Maybe because it’s a family tradition. would you go and what would you Juan: The peacefulness in Tasmania. SAL: What do you most enjoy about do? It’s quite a change from a big city like civil engineering? Buenos Aires. But I haven’t much Juan: I would defnitely go back to Juan: It’s creating something and enjoyed the cold! The Uni has always the times when I trained and played building it. It’s seeing the project been very good for me. The people tennis competitively. Tennis is my come true. It’s something the are warm and friendly. I’ve enjoyed other passion and I look forward to community can beneft from. I’ve travelling around Tasmania and going start playing again!
Whether by Air, Land or Sea, SEAWAY are your partner in international trade. With decades of experience, SEAWAY have our own first class facilities and people throughout the region to provide fully integrated logistics solutions to make your business better.
Our SEAWAY Team specialises in managing all aspects of the supply chain including; Liner Shipping Agency, Sea Freight, Air Freight, Road & Rail Transport, Warehousing, Cold Storage, Bulk Liquids, Project Cargo, Mining and Construction.
SEAWAY. A Better Way. 1300 795 795 www.seaway.com.au
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 49 AUTOMATION Living with autonomous systems
By DAVID PATRAIKO FNI, director of projects
Autonomous systems on manned vessels are already reality. The Nautical Institute asked the mariner’s opinion.
Autonomous systems are commonplace on modern ships. Most of them are intended to make the mariner’s job easier and more efective. We have ARPA, AIS, ECDIS, ship monitoring systems for fre and for water ingress, cargo monitoring and unmanned engine rooms, to mention just a few. Further autonomous systems are being developed and installed, not least for navigation, collision avoidance, engineering maintenance and ship efciency. There are also thousands of ‘autonomous vessels’ in use every day. Despite the (genuine) news stories about the ongoing development of autonomous commercial cargo ships, the vast majority of today’s autonomous Electronic brain vessels are small (less than 24 metres) and used in controlled waters. These committees, social media and Many mariners praised technology are mostly used for military purposes personal interviews to understand and how much better it had made or for environmental monitoring. members’ thoughts and to help shape life on board. Some examples This is changing slowly as business NI’s future strategy for professional were: Automatic positioning systems cases for larger vessels are becoming development. It is not surprising that (ECDIS) improving manoeuvring in increasingly viable. Whatever the future looks like, the fact is that more than most NI members are fairly pragmatic tight areas; Automatic monitoring 60,000 SOLAS ships are sailing today and accept the inevitable increase of of cargo and unmanned spaces that were designed to be manned, and technology on their ships, as they do in increasing confdence in vessel it would be prohibitively expensive to their everyday lives. They can foresee integrity; Emergency response adapt them to be fully autonomous, some real potential improvements but systems that will start fghting a fre even assuming this were possible. The also the potential risks, some of which before an emergency can get out of lifecycle of a SOLAS ship is at least only a mariner can appreciate. The control. Many survey participants 20 years and it is improbable that all big issue is trust. For an autonomous referenced dynamic positioning (DP), the world’s tonnage will be replaced system to be useful there needs to be which is an autonomous system, by prematurely, so it looks likely that a high degree of trust – either trust that defnition. Trust in DP is a result of onboard autonomous systems and the system won’t fail, or trust that if the high degree of redundancy in the people will need to co-exist for a few there is failure there will be a ‘graceful system and the graceful degradation more decades. degradation’ in the system giving the made possible through early alerts and Mariners’ impressions people on board time and ability to take specialist training. It is worth noting over control safely. One Master stated: that this advanced technology giving This need for human/machine co- operation will obviously have a ‘For all of us who have been called out autonomous operational capability substantial efect on professional of our bunks at night (and it’s always at actually requires a higher degree of development needs. The Nautical night) to come to the bridge due to a training and competency than the Institute has interviewed a range risk, the thought of that call-out being closest manual equivalent. Should this of members through its SeaGoing an alarm saying that a computer has be the model for other autonomous Correspondence Group (SGCG), gone ofine is very frightening.’ systems?
50 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 Seamanship in dealing with alarms pertaining not only without involving the crew. The crew to navigation but also GMDSS, cargo, would only know when the part arrived Another area of concern is around engineering, fre etc. with instructions for replacement. This seamanship. Good seamanship can would remove the monitoring, alerting prevent incidents by relying on experience LOOKOUT, TARGET ACQUISITION AND and administration burden of ordering a that may be difcult for a computer to TRACKING - Some ships are experimenting replacement part. master, at least in the short term. This with the use of infrared or low-light optics, tends to relate to the importance of whole- forward-looking sonar or systems like EMERGENCY RESPONSE - As ships ship situational awareness. Examples LIDAR to provide an improved chance of become larger and more complex, but given included: Anticipating weather detecting targets such as ships, fshing crewing remains at a minimum, most and its efect on shipboard operations; boats, leisure craft, or even mammals. mariners thought that the growing use Anticipating that a course change will mean It was stressed that all these sensors, of emergency response systems was a that the ship may roll more, so perhaps including radar and AIS, must be ‘co- positive move. These systems range from the catering and engineering departments ordinated by an autonomous system’ to detection to response, which may include should be alerted to prevent incidents; give a single augmented solution to the triggering extinguishing agents, ventilation Early detection of cargo lashings working mariner, so that the navigator does not control or providing stability advice in the loose (and how to deal with them); The become distracted from their task by being case of water ingress. use of smell or feel for early detection that a human integrator of technology. something may be amiss. DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS - Humans AUTOMATED LOGGING AND make mistakes, and decision support tools Wish list AUTONOMOUS ADMINISTRATION - It could become part of a ‘safety net’ for There are areas where mariners (mostly was strongly felt that autonomous systems mariners if used in the right way, with the deck ofcers) thought that technology could remove a signifcant portion of the right training. Decision support systems and autonomous systems could make a onboard administrative burden. There were for avoiding collisions are becoming widely big improvement on board. However, the also numerous questions about why paper- available. Given that decision-making is overriding caveat for any of these tools was based logs were still in use when signifcant often in the hands of a single person (who that they must be completely reliable and milestones were certainly being captured is therefore at risk of being a single point trustworthy. by technology as well. of failure), a system of checking might be useful. However, if the human puts MAINTENANCE SUPPORT - A vessel ALARM MANAGEMENT - Both deck excessive reliance on the system, then the might use hundreds of cargo sensors and engineering ofcers thought that technology could itself become a single that degrade over time. As each sensor automation could usefully be applied to point of failure. creating a system of alarm management, degraded past a certain point, it would for example automatically distinguishing automatically alert the company ashore, Other examples of decision support between alerts, warnings and alarms. who would order a replacement and log included cargo systems on tankers, where Deck ofcers said this would be helpful it into the planned maintenance system the wrong alignment of valves can cause
For blue sky and sea, We will work with you for the preservation of our global oceans and environment.
Wind Challenger An Innovation of Marine Transportation May the “wind force” be with you Reduce GHG Emissions
https://www.mol.co.jp/ https://www.mol.co.jp/en/sustainability/environment/index.html
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 51 Yara Birkeland Image: Yara International
major problems. full of stories about how AI has not lived pragmatic about the need to adopt new up to expectations. Probably the most technology, they remain cautious. In the BEING INVOLVED - Looking at other common use of AI in shipping has been past, implementation of technology has industries, it is clear that autonomy can in target identifcation and tracking. This not always been handled well, particularly be used in a variety of ways. A key technology is essential to the successful when cost is an issue. All too often question is whether any given system operation of autonomous vessels, which users have not been fully consulted. It is intended to replace the human (i.e need to assess their environments in is important for ship and shore to have a automatic plotting rather than manual) or order to avoid collisions. It has been shared understanding of the purpose of any to augment the human (i.e improve target seen as a natural step to implement this automation technology. Is it intended to detection). Mariners are eager to be technology on manned vessels to either replace an existing task (perhaps automatic involved in the design and development augment or replace the navigator. One reporting), support mariners in their current of autonomous systems that will afect concern is that AI can take thousands or role (such as providing better lookout and their work, particularly in the early stage hundreds of thousands of hours to ‘train’. decision support), or are the mariner and where their input can be most efective. For instance, if an AI system incorrectly the system working in tandem? Mariners Many young mariners are technologically identifes an object and suggests that it is need to be consulted at the design stage savvy and would see being involved in something that it’s not, a human will have to ensure that new systems are ft for the application of autonomy on board as to correct the system so that it stands a purpose and support the human rather than a career beneft, and even part of their better chance of getting it right the next undermine them. career path. Regardless of the application time. This ‘teaching’ should not be done of autonomy, the NI is committed to the by mariners who are busy navigating. It will Dependability and trust are key issues for practice of human-centred design. HCD distract them and add to their workload. successful implementation and operations. ensures that all designs, whether physical Any AI should be fully tested before being Without trust the system actually becomes or technological, support the human introduced on board. a greater burden. This can increase operator. the risk of it not being used or used in While other industries have suggested that unanticipated ways. Most mariners are concerned about the risk advanced AI could have social implications of autonomous systems causing problems – often seen in science fction movies DEVELOPING BEST PRACTICE - It will be if they are not implemented correctly. where humans can bond with technology essential to have independent observation Issues raised included not understanding – this is not something seen in shipping, of how mariners use current and future the expressed use, the quality of the so far as I have heard. Training Seafarers systems in practice. These observations algorithms and data, and who bears the recognise that they will need additional can then drive real change, if change is ultimate responsibility if the system is either training if they are to feel competent and needed. The aviation industry, for example, followed or overridden. Nippin Anand has confdent in the use of new technology. uses a practice called Line Operations written on how safety trends based on ‘big They are also cautious about skill-fade Safety Assessments (LOSA) in which data’ can overlook some underlying human in areas where technology reduces the independent, trained assessors observe element issues resulting in ‘algorithmic time spent practising their existing skills, not only competence but also procedures injustice’ (Seaways, Oct 2018). which they may need to fall back on. and design, to identify what works well These include navigation and plotting, and what needs to change. The Nautical Cyber-security and recovery have also been shiphandling and general seamanship. Institute is currently working with industry fagged as a serious issue by mariners, who New skills will include IT and the leaders to train assessors to be better at fnd themselves relying heavily on systems understanding of software and algorithms. observing human behaviour on board. that were designed long ago to be safe but For example, mariners might need to These trained assessors will encourage not necessarily secure. evaluate: The decisions the machine feedback on competency, procedures and design for the shipping industry, in ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) - Mariners makes in routeing advice and the reasons autonomous systems and beyond. User- are starting to think about artifcial for those decisions; The quality of the MET data; The formulas used to determine safe led design of autonomous systems is an intelligence and having ‘smart’ systems under-keel clearance (UKC) and their risk excellent start, but only once we see how that run more than just simple algorithms, tolerances. these systems are being used in practice and are perhaps capable of ‘learning’. can we hope to get the best possible The internet is full of stories about how AI THE WAY FORWARD - Mariners results. has made huge progress in certain felds recognise that some technical and – for example, it is becoming better at automated processes have the potential Reproduced with permission from an article diagnosing some diseases than its human to improve safety and efciency, and that frst appeared in March 2020 Seaways, counterparts. But the internet is also reduce fatigue. However, while they are the magazine of The Nautical Institute.
52 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS AFIF and CBFCA amalgamation
By PAUL DAMKJAER, chief executive ofcer, Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia Ltd (CBFCA) and BRIAN LOVELL, chief executive ofcer, Australian Federation of International Forwarders (AFIF) Ltd
The Boards of the Australian Federation reaching experience and a greater united CBFCA chairman, Adam Butler said, of International Forwarders (AFIF) and front for our industry. “bringing together AFIF and CBFCA to the Customs Brokers and Forwarders form a single peak body was overwhelming IFCBAA will continue to operate as a Council of Australia (CBFCA) have reached endorsed by members. IFCBAA will agreement to form a single peak body and not for proft organisation for the beneft provide an increased range of benefts to change their current business names to of members, ofering a wider range of for members and enable international the International Forwarders and Customs services and products, with greater freight forwarders and customs brokers Brokers Association of Australia (IFCBAA) economies of scale. to have a strong representative voice in Ltd, efective 1 July 2020. An interim IFCBAA board, comprising fve the areas afecting their interests. Joining forces into a single peak body is a historic Having listened to members over recent current directors from each of both CBFCA achievement for our industry.” years, the Boards of both AFIF and and AFIF (ten persons in total), will remain CBFCA have agreed that the industry in place for the frst two years, until July IFCBAA looks forward to providing requires a single peak body to represent 2022. members with an expanded range of high the commonality of interest between The chairperson will rotate annually during level services and representing members’ international freight forwarding and this two-year period. At the conclusion of interests as the peak industry body customs clearance functions, in the the two-year period, elections amongst the for international freight forwarders and provision of international trade logistics combined membership will create a new customs brokers. and supply chain management services. Board of Directors. The understanding reached between AFIF chairman, Paul Golland said, “I the AFIF and CBFCA Boards involves believe a single peak body is something amalgamating into a single peak body industry has been wanting for a number covering members businesses and of years. It allows us to speak for operations, including dealing with industry with a single voice when dealing government regulators and stakeholders in with governments, airlines, shipping the international logistics supply chain. lines, suppliers and stakeholders in the The Boards consider that a single peak international logistics supply chain. This body will be better placed to respond to has to be advantageous for all of our members’ issues and concerns, with far- industry“.
The Hapag-Lloyd Online Business. Easy. Online. Everywhere. Benefit from ease of doing business and reliability of our Online Business now!
Availability 24/7 Easy to use and efficient working tools Fast and convenient process Flexible integration into your workflow Increased transparency High data quality
For further information, please contact your local Hapag-Lloyd Sales or Customer Service representative or visit www.hapag-lloyd.com 3
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 53 Pure car carriers similar to this ship can also carry break bulk cargo BREAK BULK Image: DDZ Photo from Pixabay
Port report: break bulk markets squeezed by ports and alternative competitors
By JIM WILSON
Break bulk is a shrinking market. Pure-play break bulk operators are being squeezed as governments and seaport operators around the world boost local infrastructure while RoRo, box ship and dry bulk operators simultaneously try to grab market share.
At one end of the break bulk market are But that might be changing as Comoros Islands crane-equipped general cargo ships. nations and seaports develop their An example of this happened in the They tend to run a liner-like service and infrastructure. Comoros Islands, which lie to the seek “triangulation” — that is, to carry “Port infrastructure is getting better, north of the Mozambique Channel cargo on each leg of a long sea-going even in places like West Africa,” Rob between the island of Madagascar voyage consisting of several trade Aarvold, general manager of bulk and the southeast African nation of lanes. The end goal is to return to shipping at ship operator Swire Bulk in Mozambique. the point of origin without ever having Singapore, tells FreightWaves. sufered an empty ship. Prior to 2007, the islands did not have Port development can be a bit a lot in the way of marine terminal “The ability of MPPs [multipurpose of a double-edged sword when infrastructure and it could take weeks ships] to carry a broad mix of diferent infrastructure, particularly marine — literally weeks — to unload a general cargoes simultaneously means that they container terminals, are built, as the cargo ship. The Comoros Islands were are normally employed on trades where market for break bulk operators can be well suited to self-working break bulk the volume of bulk or containerised diminished. vessels. That changed in or about cargo is too low or geographically 2007, when port operator Gulftainer “It [port development] will beneft the dispersed to support employment of the United Arab Emirates, won a market in terms of cargo — with more of larger bulk or container vessels. licence to operate. Gulftainer installed break bulk and project cargo being MPPs are normally equipped with container-handling equipment. The needed to develop these countries. cargo-handling gear, making them landed cost of freight dropped, as the In the longer term it will mean fewer highly suitable to call at ports with less time taken to ofoad ships fell from multipurpose vessels are needed if developed infrastructure,” says Niklas weeks to mere hours. Carlen, research director at Maritime everything is going by container,” Susan Oatway, a break bulk analyst Strategies International. Still, there are plenty of places in the with shipping consultancy Drewry, tells world, such as Samoa, Tonga, Nauru Developing seaports FreightWaves. and Tuvalu, all island countries in the
54 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 South Pacifc, that don’t have populations with high disposable incomes to support a large merchandise trade. Nor do they have exciting resources projects that would justify sinking a lot of cold hard cash into major infrastructure works. It’s likely that such nations, for a long time at least, will rely on the liner type of break bulk shipping for the transport of general cargo. Project cargo Another type of break bulk is the “project cargo” market. Operators in this market handle large, oddly shaped and heavy unit- cargoes (i.e. not bulk and not containerised cargo), which require a lot of forethought, engineering skill and planning. That kind of project cargo shipping can be demanded in both developed and less developed nations.
In Australia, for instance, there were Steel coils are a classic break bulk cargo Image: Jotoler from Pixabay numerous oil and gas projects that were completed between about 2005 and end of the Indonesian archipelago, or include such things as the foating crane. 2015. One example, which has opened New Caledonia, a remote Pacifc territory “With big, heavy, out-of-gauge cargoes, we opportunities for the break bulk market, of France, also have become “hotbeds use foating cranes,” he tells FreightWaves. was the Dampier Marine Supply Base, in of investment.” In the case of Papua, it or near the dry bulk port of Dampier, in is because of the liquefed natural gas There are now also whole foating harbours northwest Australia. exports. In the case of New Caledonia, it’s and transhipment systems for installation the nickel mines. In both cases it has led to or hire. There’s one at the Dampier Marine Built to support the local ofshore oil Supply Base. and gas industry, particularly with the intensive infrastructure investment. importation of large, bulky and out-of- New infrastructure technologies “The Floating Deck Transhipment gauge equipment, it was later bought for System (FDTS) is a privately operated A$44 million by the logistics giant Toll. It Even though new projects can present facility located adjacent to the Dampier ofers a wide range of services, including opportunities for project cargo and Cargo Wharf. The foating deck enables cranes with a safe working load of up break bulk shipping, new infrastructure optimum operability of the FDTS through to 150 metric tonnes (a metric tonne is technologies can also potentially reduce the installation of a specialised ramp and equivalent to 2,204.6 US pounds) and a the size of the project cargo and break bulk ballast system capable of handling a heavy load wharf capable of taking unitised markets too. range of cargo from small, unitised freight cargo with a weight of up to 2,000 metric through to giant preassembled modules. Aarvold notes that, today, instead of tonnes. The foating deck dock and barge ramp are building new infrastructure or using break rapidly interchangeable, through the use Aarvold says that previously remote areas, bulk ships, there is the option of using of giant steel wedges to allow access for such as Papua New Guinea at the eastern foating mobile infrastructure. These conventional landing craft and larger liner shipping,” says the Pilbara Ports Authority, which oversees the Port of Dampier. Meanwhile, Sea Transport of Queensland, Australia, for instance, specialises in ofering foating harbours and transhipment services to junior miners. It spares them the difculties of fnding hundreds of millions of dollars to build a dry bulk port. Floating harbours also enable project developers to access otherwise stranded resource assets that would be uneconomical to exploit. Aarvold points to the West Africa bauxite trade. Bauxite, the ore from which aluminium is extracted, forms one of the minor dry bulk trades. “It’s only a few million dollars to set up foating vessel infrastructure. The cost of mobilising from Southeast Asia to West Africa is cheaper than ever before. I think, in the global project market, it is becoming a lot easier to progress a project using diferent solutions. And that’s got to be having a big impact on the MPP bread and butter,” Aarvold tells FreightWaves. Increased competition from RoRo and pure car carriers The break bulk ship Beluga Fantastic Image: Beluga
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 55 too. Obviously, container ship operators have been encouraging shippers to stuf as much cargo inside the container as possible. Shippers are now even containerising bulk liquid cargoes, such as wine (inside specialised bladders inside the box), liquefed natural gas (inside tank containers) and dry bulks, such as grain in food-grade containers. “You can put pretty much any cargo in a container as long as it fts. There is probably a ceiling with respect to economic sense but it’s not possible to calculate. Shipping — and ships — always change and evolve,” says Drewry’s Oatway. A spokesman for Swire Bulk added, “Containerisation of break bulk remains a constant challenge, low container freight levels combined with higher sailing frequencies and a lack of break bulk storage availability drives the market towards containerised freight. Only when cargo cannot ft into a container, or packing/unpacking is too costly or time consuming, [then] break bulk remains as the only viable method of carriage.” Meanwhile, container ship operators are not necessarily trying to stuf heavy or awkwardly shaped cargo into the box. MSC, for instance, puts cargo on top of a “preprepared bed containing multiple fat racks,” or on a fat-rack or open-topped unit. Box ship operators may also place containers around the out-of-gauge cargo to protect it.
Windmill blades being loaded aboard a break bulk ship Image: Spliethof However, Swire Bulk’s Aarvold sounds a note of caution for box ship operators about putting break bulk in, or on, container The other main reason that the break bulk so there are few worries about whether ships. market is shrinking, is competition for break the ship can handle a big or odd-shaped bulk cargo from non-break bulk operators. out-of-gauge cargo. Wallenius Wilhelmsen “If you talk to the big main line operators, says it can handle unit cargoes up to 6.1 point-to-point is about lower unit shipping The most obvious examples are the pure meters high and 12 meters wide, and costs and the move to transhipment. Big car and truck carrier (PCTC) ship operators, lines will be looking long and hard at such as Wallenius Wilhelmsen, and the weighing up to 400 metric tonnes (20 feet containerising cargoes owing to their lower various types of roll-on, roll-of (RoRo) high by 39 feet wide, and weighing up to operators. MSI’s Carlen notes that the 881,849 US pounds). unit costs. Some bulk grain and even iron ore can go in containers. Big ships are PCTC and RoRo operators tend to target Some break bulk services potentially can the higher value cargoes. It is simplicity all about speed and turnaround — it’s all expose cargo to the elements but this is not about unit cost — but if they start putting itself to get a heavy out-of-gauge cargo so with PCTCs — everything’s efectively of some description, such as an electrical on fat racks and out-of-gauge, then they indoors, reducing the potential for damage may [undo] what they’ve achieved.” transformer, put it on a roll trailer, a and the requirement for costly packing. multipurpose bogie or a jack-up trailer, and The cargo just rolls on and of the vessel, Meanwhile, even dry bulk operators then drive it onto a giant vehicle carrier. so there’s little in the need for warehousing are attracting some break bulk cargo, It is even easier if the machinery already or distribution costs. Although it’s not free, particularly the blades of energy-generating has wheels on it. The big PCTC operators of course, as a driver will have to be paid to windmill turbines. have been ofering a liner-like break bulk load and discharge it. “Look at wind-power — windmills had service for decades. Apart from, obviously, Then there’s the fact that PCTCs operate always been more of an MPP play. But the helping to boost revenues, it can create a on a liner service with scheduled regular majority of blades are carried on dry bulk contribution to cost on the backhaul when ships,” says Swire’s Aarvold. the ship otherwise would be empty or port calls on specifed routes. Great if it would only be carrying a very small cargo. matches the needs of the shipper, a pain if He points out that windmill blades got more it does not. robust and dry bulk operators were seeking There are several obvious advantages to to boost their return on investment. shipping break bulk cargoes by RoRo or “This will tend to be a limiting factor where PCTC. RoRo operators are already very shippers require direct port calls that fall “People got better at cargo care,” says experienced at cargo care — no-one wants outside the liner route,” Carlen says. Aarvold. the paint jobs on all those shiny new autos Box ships and dry bulkers muscle in to be scufed and chipped upon arrival at the port of discharge. And PCTCs have Box ship operators and even dry bulk ship Originally published in FreightWaves huge internal volumes and entryways, operators are muscling in on break bulk (www.freightwaves.com)
56 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 BUSINESS/ECONOMY
The economic impact on markets of the coronavirus pandemic
By PAUL BETTANY, Foreign Exchange partner, Collison & Co.
The global ‘coronavirus’ Chronology of events as do businesses, who have been ordered to shut down. The idea pandemic has infected people The epidemic began in Wuhan, is to lock down the population to China in December 2019 and quickly across the world, quickly prevent the spread of the epidemic, the epidemic spread. The Chinese spreading from Wuhan, while building resources to cope authorities shut down Wuhan to the with infections. Modelling has been China. The virus has not rest of China (but allowed millions only infected populations key to these strategies and now of people to leave for destinations the focus is turning to restarting the around the world but also the around the world). The frst cases economies. This will require massive economies of the world. Most spread from China to South Korea, and unprecedented stimulus, both Japan and Thailand around 20 fscal and monetary, which vary from of the world is in some form January. President Trump imposed of shut-down, preventing the one country to the next. The Federal a travel ban on China by the end of Reserve has led the way, with massive spread of infection by social January. The virus was rampaging support for business, in the form of distancing, in order to gain through Europe and Iran by the debt purchasing from Government control and contain the spread. middle of February. By March the Bonds to Junk Bonds! Governments virus had spread to both North and It appears to be working, and have shipped out unprecedented South America and the explosion support packages for people and Governments are now planning of infections was rapidly translating businesses in an attempt to bridge exit strategies from the various into a surge in deaths in Italy, Spain the gap until economic activity can lock-downs. and other European nations. This resume. crescendo rapidly spread to US cities, led by New York, with cases across Economies and markets the globe, and including British Prime Equity markets collapsed, with the Minister Johnson and Crown Prince DOW losing more than a third of its Charles. Most countries were now in value, in less than a month, from late some form of lockdown. As countries February. Uncertainty and panic experience the surge in infections and quickly destroyed markets and death, models have predicted a peak authorities acted quickly to support and then decline. This is where we them and stabilise the situation. are at the time of this article, and now Massive intervention, on a scale not authorities attention has turned to seen before, began quickly across exit strategies to re-open economies global economies. Governments around the world. launched massive fscal support Government fscal and central bank packages to support people and monetary policy businesses, and funded through debt bankrolled by their central banks. The Governments around the world Australian situation was a similar one have worked in close conjunction to many countries around the world. with their central banks to provide The PM refused to go into complete support and relief packages for lock down, allowing essential people and business, to get them businesses to operate, but thankfully through the economic shutdowns. allowed a wide defnition of ‘essential The lock downs have shut down industries’. The Government has much of economic activity across the launched massive fscal support world, so individuals need support, packages, while the RBA has acted
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 57 to support debt markets and ensure and a return to normal economic economy. Austria and Germany in liquidity. activity. Europe, have already started to return to work. The US will follow, with a Authorities have now turned attention The energy sector has also sufered staged return to normal economic to exit strategies and how to return immeasurably as demand for oil and activity. Australia needs to follow the economy back to work. The gas has plummeted. To exacerbate the lead of the US to minimise the shut-down cannot continue. The the situation further, a battle erupted damage to their own economy. The IMF and various fnancial institutions between Russia and Saudi Arabia, are releasing reports warning of the over supply cuts, and they actually cost of this pandemic is yet to be massive economic damage being even increased production. President fnalised and measured, but the done. Estimates of contraction of Trump intervened and OPEC PLUS recovery can and will take many global economic activity of 3 per met and reconciled the issue. They years. The Australian economy can cent and unemployment rising to 10 have since agreed to cut more than bounce back quickly, if they can per cent or more. If these numbers 10 million barrels per day, but the return activity back to full speed, as eventuate, then the global economy damage was done, with the price of quickly as possible. There are huge will experience a tough recession, the oil collapsing below USD$20/barrel. risks and these will be refected in like of which we have not seen since equity and currency markets. Conclusions the ‘Great Depression’. The worst of the pandemic appears The fear and panic overwhelming to be behind us and now planning markets, at the peak of the crises, has begun to return saw risk aversion spiral and the safe haven of the US Dollar was sought economies back to normal. The key out. This collapsed global equities now is timing. The longer it takes and bond yields, while currencies individual economies to return to were battered. The AUD fell against open markets, the more damage the US dollar, from pre-crises trading will be done. The longer the ‘lock- levels of above 0.6700 cents, down down’, the higher the cost in terms to a low of 0.5520 cents. Central of unemployment, bankruptcies and banks and government interventions, long-term damage to the economy. on a grand scale, stabilised markets. It looks as if the early and ‘most The progress and containment of the recovered’ countries, may be able ‘coronavirus’ has allowed authorities to return to the ‘new normal’ and to move to planning exit strategies embrace a ‘v-shaped’ rebound in the
58 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 OUR NORTHERN NEIGHBOURS
Years of living prosperously – how important are Indonesia and Australia economic ties?
By TIM HARCOURT*
Indonesia is in the press a lot in to London or Washington as their frst load Dutch ships hostile to Indonesian Australia. Mainly it’s about the 3 port of call after assuming the highest independence). Sukarno expressed ofce in the land. Malcolm Turnbull and gratitude for the support of the Australian b’s – beef, boats and Bali. Illegal Paul Keating did the same thing and did people.” immigration, live cattle exports Jakarta frst. This support was a big deal at the and drug smuggling normally There is strong evidence of Australia time, for the new independent nation in dominates. supporting Indonesia in the past as an South East Asia. As Isaac notes, the In fact, once the Airport Economist was economic partner and vice versa. After famous Australian diplomatic-academic hosting an Australian University alumni all, Indonesia is probably the Australian Indonesian specialists Tom Critchley and function in Jakarta with the famous TV continent’s frst trading partner, when Jamie Mackie, “attribute the Indonesian indigenous Australians fshed and traded anchor, CNN Indonesia’s Frida Lidwina. Government’s confdence in nominating sea cucumber and other goods with their Australia to the Good Ofces Committee, This was at the time of the live cattle Macassan counterparts (Makassar is to the action of the waterside workers in issue on Four Corners, and one of in the south west of what is now called banning the loading of Dutch ships and Indonesia’s most famous Australian Sulawesi). to the support Australia had shown for alumni was the then Vice-Minister for Indonesia in the UN Security Council.” Trade, Mahendra Siregar, Vice-Minister And in the 1940s, in the early struggles for Trade (who went to Monash), and for Indonesian independence, Australia These closer Indonesian Australian there was plenty of tension in the room. was there working together with economic ties also continued ffty years Indonesia on trade, investment and later, during the Asian fnancial crisis But the Vice Minister was gracious in education ties. This is demonstrated by of 1997-99 when the Reserve Bank of his remarks and it took a very skilled the recollection of an early instigator of Australia, particularly thanks to Deputy and professional performance by Indonesian-Australian trade relations, Governor Stephen Grenville, who has Australia’s Ambassador to Jakarta, Greg the famous Australian labour economist been a diplomat in Jakarta, clashed with Moriarty, to steer us through the issue. and arbitrator, Joe Isaac. According the IMF and Clinton Administration in If anyone ever wanted to see the skill to Professor Joe Isaac, who went on their analysis of the Indonesian economy. and professionalism of our diplomatic MacMahon Ball’s mission to what was The then Treasurer, Peter Costello, took corps, I’d point to that performance by then called Batavia (Jakarta) in the Grenville and Governor Glenn Stevens Ambassador Moriarty and his team in the Dutch East Indies in November 1945, advice on Indonesia and stared down Embassy in Jakarta, as a great example Australia’s ties were strong right from the the IMF and the Clinton Administration’s of excellence. start of the Indonesian independence economics team and took a very But how important is the Indonesian struggle against the Dutch, soon after diferent tack to the Indonesian economy trade relationship really? And how can the Japanese surrender in World War than Washington. As a result, the we get successful business stories on Two. As Isaac recalls: Indonesian economy fared much better, recovered quickly and avoided the the front page instead of the other B’s? “We were able to meet Sukarno soon pitfalls of other developing economies after our arrival, and we met twice Because there’s no doubt that, despite who took the IMF prescription. the dominance of security issues and thereafter…Mac outlined the purpose geo-politics, historically, Indonesia and of his mission... and that Australia was As a result, in 2018, Indonesia wass a Australia are long standing economic sympathetic to the political aspirations top 15 trade partner with Australia (worth partners. of the Indonesians; and he canvassed $16.5 billion in two-way trade), and a Sukarno’s reaction to the despatch by vital education partner. A number of In fact, it was symbolic, when he frst the Australian Government of a boat Australian businesses have succeeded became Prime Minister, Scott Morrison load of medical supplies. No doubt in the archipelago. As well as big names visited Indonesia rather than the tradition thinking of the action of the Australian like ANZ, Leightons, Commbank, Orica of Australian Prime Ministers past, to go waterside workers (who refused to and Bluescope, over 2400 Australian
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 59 businesses export goods alone to resident of Dutch background, explains beautiful cultural centre of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, and many corporates have that a partnership gives you “access Central Java to Bandung in West Java.” received rates of return four times that of to local infrastructure, local networks China and India. and relationships. Similarly, Australian Here’s just a few simple tips: health care company Blackmores has But in some ways, Indonesia is • Understand diversity – it’s an amazing its alliance with Indonesia’s Kalbe, who underdone as an economic partner archipelago. have a chain of pharmacies across the for Australia, compared to the giants • Don’t let Jakarta overwhelm you of China and India, and the maturer archipelago. Blackmore’s Dean Garvey there’s an active Australian business economies of ASEAN, like Singapore says, Kalbe helps Blackmores “to and Thailand, and our longstanding understand the retailer and to access community, join the Indonesian North East Asian partners in Japan and their social media networks” whilst Australian Business Council Ongkie Tedjasurja of Kalbe says, they South Korea. For instance, despite - https://www.aibc.com.au/ Indonesia’s massive size (of 262 million were attracted to Blackmores “quality, people), there are only 250 Australian innovation and R&D.” • Appreciate custom and religion. In companies with a presence in Indonesia, Indonesia has a growing middle class rural areas and cities outside Jakarta which compares to over 3,000 in other and has recovered from the dark days drinking alcohol at business meetings is markets like China. Indonesia has never of IMF intervention in 1997-99, and is not acceptable. been a low-cost labour country, foreign one of the world’s largest and youngest • Notice customs like removing shoes, companies have mainly gone there for democracies. But economically, it still female-male contact/etiquette etc. the massive domestic consumer market, needs trade and foreign investment to especially the urban middle class in cities help build capacity from its partners, • Enjoy the lively Indonesian culture like Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Surabaya. including Australia. And given its size and sense of humour. And much Australian investment is and proximity, the Australian Indonesia in infrastructure, given the logistical economic partnership has a lot of challenges of a huge population living potential to grown beyond the 3’Bs – across over 17,000 islands. beef, boats and Bali headlines. As a result, many Australian companies *Tim Harcourt is the JW Nevile Fellow in Economics Tim’s Tips enter Indonesia via an alliance with a at UNSW Sydney and host of The Airport Economist TV show www.theairporteconomist. local partner. For instance, Telstra set “I go to Indonesia a lot and it’s such com and The Airport Economist Podcast: www. up a partnership with Telkom Indonesia. a diverse place from the Hindu Island podcastoneaustralia.com.au/podcasts/the-airport- Telstra’s Erik Meijer, a long-time Jakarta Paradise of Bali in the East to the economist
The Thais that bind through thick and thin
By TIM HARCOURT*
Thailand has always been a Malaysia for instance, was not keen Dr Supachai to be the Director General good friend to Australia. In the on Australia’s closer involvement and of the new World Trade Organisation tried to prevent APEC’s momentum (WTO), over a former Prime Minister 1990s, when Australia was frst (favouring its own East Asian Economic of New Zealand, Mike Moore. That enmeshing itself in the Asia Caucus). This led to Australian Prime Australia would favour a Thai over our Pacifc regional architecture – Minister’s dispute with Dr Mahatir, when nearest and dearest Kiwi cousins raised a few eyebrows, but it showed how with APEC and as an observer he referred to “other recalcitrants” after the Malaysian Prime Minister boycotted important Australia viewed its friendship of ASEAN – it met with some the APEC Leaders Summit in Seattle. with Thailand. resistance. But it was the Thais who stepped in on Australia – particularly the State of behalf of Australia. The Thai Deputy South Australia – showed its regard for Prime Minister, Dr Supachai, at the Thailand when its Government visited the National Trade and Investment Outlook country after the Bangkok bombings of Conference (NTIOC) in Melbourne 2015. The Government trade mission to in 1994, made it clear that Thailand Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, led by strongly supported Australia and its South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill, inclusion in various regional institutions took the brave decision to press on and APEC, when others in ASEAN had with the Bangkok leg of the trip, despite tried to exclude Australia to keep “Asia the tragedy of the bomb blasts on the for the Asians”. The favour was returned very Monday of the weeklong mission. a decade later when Australia supported In fact, the Australian Ambassador to
60 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 Thailand, Paul Robilliard said, that the income country with a large urban But it is not just about tarifs. Australian 80 strong Trade mission from South middle-class, with healthy purchasing healthcare company Blackmores Australia was at the time the largest power. It’s not a low labour-cost established a presence in Thailand more Australian Business mission to Thailand. economy either like Cambodia, Laos or that 30 years ago, and according to its The Thai minister of transport, Dr Arkhom Myanmar (Burma). And yes, it has had country manager, Pussadee Suchitchon, Termpittayapaisita, expressed his and 12 coups since 1932, but its political “Its safety and quality” that really matters the Thai Government’s appreciation for instability doesn’t adversely afect to the Thai consumer. “The Thai middle- the mission’s decision to continue to Thailand’s continued prosperity. In class consumer is very health conscious Bangkok so soon after the bombing, terms of doing business, it ranks 26 in and they look for safety and quality in in his frst public appearance since his the World Bank Report, ahead of the their health products. They are price promotion in a long-mooted cabinet Netherlands, on 27 and Japan, on 29. sensitive but mainly look for value for reshufe. This was important as the It also has the world’s highest number money,” she said. State’s ties with Thailand are strong. For of Facebook users” he explains. As many years the Port Adelaide submarine Ambassador to Thailand, Paul Robilliard, Tim’s Tips corporation was based in Bangkok, puts it: “No government has ever been “Thailand is the land of smiles bit also under the capable leadership of Graham bad for business in Thailand”. the land of coups, so take caution Storah. Woods Bagot, a century old Thailand’s attractiveness to Australian with the political situation and keep in Adelaide architecture frm was based in exporters has also been assisted by the touch with the Australia Embassy and Thailand too, and SMR, an automotive ThailandAustralia Free Trade Agreement Austrade. But even in a fuid political components company based itself on (TAFTA), launched in 2005, at the same situation many Australian businesses the eastern seaboard of Thailand (the time as the more publicised Australia operate in Thailand and use it as a ‘Detroit of South East Asia’). The mission USA Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA). base to the Mekong Delta. The Airport immediately after the Bangkok blasts, TAFTA has helped build our trade Economist was launched in Bangkok included companies from a variety of momentum into ASEAN and the rest by then Ambassador James Wise (now sectors, including premium food and of Asia. In fact, in terms of numbers himself an author on Thailand) and Dr wine, aerospace, defence, education of companies exporting, and other Rungtip Chotnapalai the host of Thai TV and fashion. South Australia’s Special trade outcomes, TAFTA has been more 3 so I have a soft spot for the Thais that Envoy,Sir Angus Houston, and Trade successful than the trade agreement bind!” and Defence Minister Martin Hamilton- Australia signed with the USA at the Smith, lead a high-quality aerospace Just a few simple tips: same time. Under TAFTA, trade between and defence mission looking to form the two countries has doubled, and • Be careful re: the political situation partnerships with Thai airways and the Thai foreign direct investment (FDI) check: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/ Thai aeronautical industry. This was stocks have doubled. TAFTA has helped coupled with another trade mission • Consult with the Australian Embassy, consolidate Thailand as a trading hub for headed by Governor of South Australia which has a big staf and excellent new the Greater Mekong Delta, with emerging Hieu Van Le, that focussed on education building in Bangkok economies like Myanmar, Laos and partnerships with the universities and Cambodia coming to the fore and joining • Join Auscham and the TAFE SA, to match Thailand’s human more developed neighbours, Vietnam Sundowners social club https://www. capital needs in skills and education. and Thailand itself. austchamthailand.com/ But, with Thailand’s reputation for TAFTA has also really helped agricultural political instability and the incidents like • Check out the comprehensive exporters, as since TAFTA took efect the Bangkok bombings, how does that incentives at the Thai Board of in 2005, over 90 per cent of Thai afect business? The biggest impact is Investment. https://www.boi.go.th/en/ tarifs on Australian imports have on Thailand’s crucial tourism industry, intro/ been dismantled. Tarif cuts have which has been afected over the past helped exports in fruit and vegetables years by the coup and related political but also in the automotive sector, demonstrations. But other trade sectors processed tuna, air conditioning and of the Thai economy always continue, refrigerator components. More than particularly given Thailand’s key position 3,000 Australian manufacturers now as a trading and logistics hub for the export goods to Thailand and there are Mekong Delta, which comprises their 200 Australian businesses operating in neighbouring countries of Vietnam, Thailand, including a cluster of around 20 Cambodia, Laos, and the emerging automotive manufacturers in Thailand’s Myanmar (Burma). That’s why Australian Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), transport and logistics giant Linfox sees incorporating the eastern seaboard that Thailand as key to their ASEAN strategy, the Airport Economist visited with former as do other exporters and investors. Victorian Premier Steve Bracks, as part But even without the bombings, what is of the Automotive Review for the Rudd Thailand like as a place to do business? Labor Government. According to Greg Wallis, Australia’s TAFTA has helped the agribusiness Senior Trade commissioner in Bangkok sector too. One agricultural exporter I in 2015, at the time of the blast (and a interviewed for The Airport Economist TV proud South Australian from Kangaroo *Tim Harcourt is the J.W.Nevile Fellow in Economics series, David Flack of Global Horticulture, at UNSW Sydney and host of The Airport Island), there are several myths about said that, “My mandarins used to incur a Economist TV show www.theairporteconomist. Thailand that need to be dispelled: tarif on 42 per cent, now it is zero. If you com and The Airport Economist Podcast www. podcastoneaustralia.com.au/podcasts/the-airport- “People often think that Thailand is a pick up a mandarin in Bangkok it’s likely economist. This article is a lightly edited version of poor country but it’s actually a middle- to be from South Australia’s Riverland.” the original published on by Tim on 7 Feb 2020.
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 61 LEGAL
Cruising ahead of coronavirus and into a place of refuge
By JIM WILSON
It was the last port of call for the Only a few people outside of China last journey, the WHO had only poetically-dubbed “last cruise ship were focused on the unfolding published posts on social media on Earth”. Toward the end of April, public health disaster. It was New and had published its frst technical Year’s Eve, 2019, when the Chinese publication to the global scientifc the cruise ship MSC Magnifca reported to the World Health community. sailed slowly into Marseille, France. Organization that there was a cluster Magnifca sailed around the world, The ship had set sail from Genoa, of pneumonia cases caused by a stopping at many ports of call, novel coronavirus in Wuhan. Italy, on 5 January with about 1,760 somewhat miraculously sailing ahead passengers. By the date of the Magnifca’s of the spread of what had come
Ruby Princess in isolation along side Port Kembla wheat terminal Image: Safe Quadrant
62 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 to be called COVID-19. That is, until 14 March, when the ship was approaching Tasmania and there were six known cases on the island. Although the cruise ship had permission to berth, Captain Leotta kept the passengers on board. The ship remained COVID-19 free. Magnifca later sailed to Western Australia, where ofcial sources incorrectly claimed that hundreds of people were sick aboard the cruise. Fears were running high after it transpired that a considerable number of passengers aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship who had been allowed free access into Sydney, and from there to the rest of Australia, were in fact infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Magnifca re-supplied in Fremantle and headed of for a slow non-port- calling cruise around the world. Meanwhile, back here in Australia, political tensions were running high over cruise ships, with the local authorities trying to order cruise ships to depart Australian waters. It wasn’t an entirely welcome development for the crew of the cruise ships. If the ships had are inefective. way “and give shelter whenever taken up anchor and left, the crew reasonably possible”. could well have been subject to a Article 98 of UNCLOS also imposes a dangerous virus outbreak far out to duty on governments to render help Ultimately, here in Australia, sanity sea away from any help. to vessels and persons at sea, which prevailed. doesn’t exactly square well with the Cruise ships were not forced out And, of course, there’s always the desire to demand that cruise ships, of Australian waters as advocated little matter of international law and subject to potentially catastrophic by some of the frothier members Australia living up to its obligations. and deadly virus outbreaks, put out of the general public. Resupply to sea far from help. While Australia, as sovereign state, was admitted and, during the has the right to control entry into its Back in December 2003, the member time of writing of this article, large territorial waters under Article 2 of countries of the International Maritime numbers of the non-essential crew the UN Convention on the Law of Organization approved the adoption of cruise ships were being tested the Sea, cruise ships have a right of Resolution A.949(23) “Guidelines for COVID-19. Those who were of passage through the territorial on Places of Refuge for Ships in infection-free were being repatriated sea under Article 18. Normally, Need of Assistance”. They apply, and those who were sick were passage must be continuous and among other things, to ships in need given medical treatment and were “expeditious”, but passage can also of assistance, which are ships in a entered into care or quarantine as include stopping and anchoring if situation that could give rise to a appropriate. rendered necessary by uncontrollable navigational hazard. Places of refuge events (force majeure) or for the are places where ships in need of purpose of rendering assistance assistance can take action to protect to persons or ships in danger human life. or distress. UNCLOS does not specifcally give a right to ships to The guidelines set out a range of enter port because of distress. It criteria and frameworks that ship is arguable (and, indeed, argued) masters and coastal states can whether or not there is a right for use to help ships. The guidelines ships in distress to enter ports under specifcally point out there is no customary international public law. obligation on coastal states to grant Some legal scholars argue that as a place of refuge but equally they countries impose access controls urge coastal states to weigh-up all regardless, then any rights of access the factors and risks in a balanced
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 63 LEGAL
The COVID-19 pandemic and the contractual force majeure landscape
By MICHAEL WRAY, partner, SVETLANA SUMINA, partner and CHRIS HART, counsel and mariner, Holman Fenwick Willan, Houston
Often considered mere As the severity of COVID-19 spreads, parties to be relieved from their boilerplate, contractual force companies are grappling with an contractual duties when performance inability to maintain regular business is prevented by a FM event. If majeure (FM) provisions operations. Governments are taking a FM event persists for longer are taking on far greater various actions, including shutting than a specifed period of time, a signifcance in light of the down non-essential activities, in contractual right to terminate may global economic slowdown an attempt to restrain the novel arise. To trigger the FM clause, the party claiming FM bears the burden following the spread of coronavirus from spreading. The rapid progression of this virus has of proving that: (1) a FM event COVID-19. In the last created a situation where parties occurred, and (2) the FM event is the 20 years, the world has are unable keep up with contractual reason that the contract cannot be been exposed to multiple obligations due to a wide range of performed. destructive health crises. factors, which include governmental A FM clause is found in most orders, social distancing, the SARS in 2002 and 2003, maritime contracts. To trigger the FM unavailability of critical infrastructure clause, timely notice must be made Swine fu in 2009, MERS in such as ports and terminals, or by the party claiming FM. There 2012, Ebola between 2014 and supply chain issues. must be a causal link between the 2016, Zika in 2015, and now Undoubtedly, in an attempt to excuse FM event and the failure to perform. COVID-19. contractual non-performance or Some FM provisions may limit the potentially to terminate a contract, impact of the event by distance or a FM clause will take on far time. greater signifcance than originally A party may be required to show that contemplated. it made a reasonable efort to mitigate The force majeure doctrine the efects of the FM event. Texas State law does not, however, require The FM doctrine grew out of the the party invoking FM to demonstrate common law and is recognised under that it exercised reasonable diligence the general maritime law and state to avoid the disruption unless such law. Under common law, a party may reasonable diligence is expressly utilise FM to excuse performance stated in the FM clause. and/or potentially terminate a contract, where performance If the FM provision does in fact apply, becomes impossible as a result of the non-performing party is excused a reasonably unforeseeable event as long as the event continues, and outside the parties’ control. Such a termination of the whole contract may reasonably unforeseeable event is be possible if the event continues called a “force majeure”. for an extended period of time, as specifed in the contract. Over time, the common law FM Is the Covid-19 Pandemic a force doctrine was adapted into a standard majeure event? contract clause, which is often glossed over during negotiations. Litigation often centres on whether The FM clause in a contract allows a FM event exists. A FM clause will either party to suspend or excuse set forth a laundry list of specifc its performance if certain specifed FM events. Common examples events set forth in the FM clause of FM events include: terrorist occur. A FM clause enables attacks, typhoons, hurricanes,
64 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 storms of unprecedented magnitude, Conclusion Coronavirus-Can-it-be-a- Force- food, volcanic eruption, earthquake, Majeure-event-Feb-2020 and our It is key to review all FM clauses in explosion or fre, quarantine, piracy, dedicated COVID-19 Hub https:// contracts. Before triggering the clause, war, and the ubiquitous “act of God.” www.hfw.com/Covid-19, designed to the non-performing party must read the A FM clause will often contain a prepare you for what’s next. The HFW language in the contract carefully. In global team will continue to monitor catchall phrase: “any event beyond the the COVID-19 context, key language reasonable control of the parties.” In the legal and business implications and to look for would be references to report on further developments. relatively recent years, some contracts “epidemics,” “pandemics”, “infectious expressly included “epidemics,” such diseases,” “quarantines,” or the as in the BIMCO Supplytime charter catchall phrase of “any event beyond party forms. the reasonable control of the parties.” Depending on the language of the If a FM clause is applicable: clause, the COVID-19 virus itself may not necessarily be considered a FM • make sure the event fts within the FM clause, event. The FM landscape may change in light of the declaration of COVID-19 • remember to give proper notice of as a “pandemic” by the World Health a FM event (if the contract requires Organization (WHO) and the ensuing it), and actions taken by governmental entities • make reasonable eforts to avoid to contain the spread of the virus, the loss, consider engaging with which have a trickle-down efect on contractual partners to fnd a business’s ability to perform its amicable solutions to the contractual obligations. Courts may disruptions caused by COVID-19. view governmental action taken to combat the virus as the FM event as FM scenarios are highly fact specifc, opposed to COVID-19. and the application of a FM clause carries signifcant commercial impacts. While the interpretation of the impact In this highly fuid time, HFW is For further information in Australia, contact: of a pandemic on FM clauses may be committed to assist our clients with a novel issue, there are limits to the the commercial and legal impact of Gavin Vallely reach of a FM clause. Courts have held COVID-19. For an English law FM Head of Shipping (Australia), HFW that generalised economic hardship or perspective, click on the attached D +61 (0)3 8601 4523 increased expenses do not constitute a link for an article by HFW Partner M +61 (0)416 052 023 FM event. Brian Perrott. https://www. hfw.com/ E [email protected]
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 65 LEGAL
Cruise shipping and the coronavirus
By STUART HETHERINGTON, partner, Colin Biggers & Paisley
In brief - cruise ships have to appropriate medical service, including ports before 15 June 2020 unless: struggled to disembark passengers diagnostic facilities located so as to allow the prompt assessment and care of ill • It has permission from the Collector of and crew when they have not been travellers; to provide access to equipment Customs; or permitted to call at certain ports. and personnel for the transport of ill • It is exercising a right of innocent travellers to an appropriate medical facility; A number of these ships have been of passage; or to provide appropriate public health the coast of Australia and have attracted emergency response by establishing and • Its entry is necessary for securing the considerable publicity, particularly in maintaining a public health emergency safety of the ship or saving life at sea; or Sydney and Fremantle. contingency plan; to provide assessment • The voyage commenced in Australia The principle of free pratique is enshrined of and care for afected travellers by and is being conducted for the sole in various conventions to which Australia establishing arrangements with local purpose of performing necessary is a party and this is an opportune time to medical facilities for their isolation, maintenance to the ship (section 5). be reminded of the regimes that apply in treatment and other support facilities and Australia. services that may be required; and to By Section 6, a foreign cruise ship is provide for the assessment and, if required, required to depart Australia if it is in Firstly, Australia, and about 193 other quarantine of suspect travellers. countries, are members of the World Health Australia before 15 June 2020 unless: Secondly, Australia is a party to the Organization (WHO) and are bound by its • It has permission from the Collector of Facilitation of Maritime Trafc (FAL) International Health Regulations which were Customs to remain; or negotiated in Geneva in 2005, entered into Convention 1965, which entered into force force generally in May 2007, and applied in in 1967. Australia acceded to it in 1986. • It is exercising a right of innocent Australia on 15 June 2007. In Section 2 of That Convention makes recommendations passage; or the National Health Security Act 2007, the concerning the ready availability “of • Its entry is necessary for securing the Objects of Part 2 dealing with Public Health medical facilities as may be reasonable and safety of the ship or saving life at sea. Surveillance, it is said that one of the practicable for the emergency treatment objects is to support the Commonwealth of crews and passengers” (Annex to the It is that latter exception which appears to and States and Territories in giving efect to Convention Section 6.9). recognise the obligations which Australia the International Health Regulations. The Thirdly, Australia has also ratifed the IMO’s has pursuant to the WHO Regulations, later Biosecurity Act 2015 identifes one of MLC 2006 Convention and gave efect to the FAL Convention and the IMO MLC its objects under s.5(b) as being to “give it in the Navigation Act 2012 and Marine Convention to sick passengers and crew. efect to Australia’s international rights and Order 11. In its guidelines at Guideline obligations including under the International B4.1.3 the Convention provides in relation The disembarkation of sick crew members Health Regulations and the Law of the to “Medical Care Ashore” that seafarers recently from the Ruby Princess cruise Sea Convention. (Express reference is should have access to hospitalisation ship in Sydney suggests that Australian contained in the Biosecurity Act to one of where necessary and “Suitable measures authorities recognise their international and those rights: the right of innocent passage should be taken to facilitate the treatment humanitarian obligations in balancing them (Section 30)). of seafarers sufering from disease. In with their obligations to their own citizens. particular, seafarers should be promptly There are three further considerations to The WHO International Health Regulations admitted to clinics and hospitals ashore be taken into account in that balancing act require States to report certain disease without difculty and irrespective of including: outbreaks and public health events to nationality or religious belief”. WHO. In addition, under Article 20, States • Australian passengers overseas on are required to comply with, what are Australia has also recognised its treaty and cruise ships, no doubt hoping that foreign described in Annex 1 as, “Core Capacity local law obligations in its 27 March 2020 governments recognise their obligations; Requirements for Surveillance and Amendment Determination (No. 1) of the Response” at airports and ports. Biosecurity (Human Biosecurity Emergency) • Australia’s dependence on the carriage (Human Coronavirus with Pandemic of goods by sea and international trade; Importantly, these requirements include Potential) (Emergency Requirements), and the provision of “Specialised staf, pursuant to Section 477(1) of the laboratory analysis of samples and • The ever growing signifcance of Biosecurity Act 2015. logistical assistance (equipment, supplies the cruise industry to the Australian and transport)”. These requirements By these recent provisions a cruise ship is economy (recently quoted as a $5.2 billion include, inter alia: the provision of access banned from entering Australian territory or contributor).
66 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 BOOK REVIEW 90 Percent of Everything
ROSE GEORGE, Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2013*
Every person, politician or public international conventions, a detailed “Denmark’s largest company, servant who has anything to do analysis of the implications of its sales equal to 20 percent of with setting policy relating to trade, fagging out to open registers, the Denmark’s GDP.” But Rose George transport or infrastructure should economics of difering taxation has strong opinions and she is not be forced to read at least the frst regimes and a score card of ship afraid to use them, her host is not chapter of this book. So should loses and abandonment atrocities immune to her willingness to criticise everyone else. Rose George linked to shipping companies and when she so decides. In various successfully captures the essence black listed registries that she is parts she is hosted by Maersk, of the modern shipping industry willing to name and shame. It is a EURONAVFOR, and the Portuguese and puts a simple reality on the comprehensive coverage. Navy and they all come in for their fair share of scrutiny and rebuke. magnitude of the global shipping task For the landsman this book presents in her 13 page introduction. You will a remarkable, eye-opening excursion But she doesn’t stop there, George want to read more. into an alien world. A layman will deals out strong criticisms to the paralysed bureaucracy of the IMO, Ninety Percent of Everything is a learn a lot about the shipping trade, unscrupulous ship owners, Filipino new book on an age old theme: the almost by accident, whilst thoroughly ship manning agencies, and masters invisibility of shipping, the lifeblood enjoying the story. For the seafarer, who fail to respond to mayday calls - of the global economy, and the it presents perhaps a naïve view of she is not out to make friends. ignominy of the seafarer, used and everyday life at sea, but one that abused. It is certainly a worthy is meticulously researched, keenly The author is intent on discovering review, successor to Two Years observed and cleverly told. Most of what makes a person endure the Before the Mast and, while covering the time she gets it right, and to me risks, separation and deprivations a lot of similar ground, particularly in her insight was proven when she of life as a seafarer. She profles relation to the welfare of the seafarer, recounted a story of what a leave her captain, delves into the deepest it successfully recalibrates the reader starved seafarer mostly craved, secrets of crew members, vilifes to the contemporary circumstance green, and green grass in particular. Somali pirates and praises the of a modern merchant ship and her That brought déjà vu of my early seafarer’s welfare organisations and crew. experience at sea, the deprivation the International Transport Federation of green over months on an endless for their eforts to bring fair working Ostensibly a story about a sea sea and at every port of call my frst conditions to this hidden industry. voyage aboard a modern container destination was to a park to roll on She dares to look through the cracks vessel, Ninety Percent of Everything the grass and stare at the trees, and and reveal the high risk reality of is in reality much more than that; an then a milkshake – there is no green life at sea beyond police forces and enticing exposé into the shipping at sea, seafarers do miss green. national laws. industry, the great invisible giant that, in George’s plain speak: “Puts Annoyingly, there are a few grating Her observations and analysis of clothes on your back, gas in your car, errors which detract from the Somali piracy is forensic. She dispels and food on your plate.” Through otherwise erudite writing and remind the romantic myth of pirates of the a chronology of the voyage from the reader that the author is a Caribbean and voices strong distain journalist and a writer, not a seafarer: Europe to Asia, and with a strong for the practice, and a hatred of her reference to “a gang of dolphins” focus on the impact on humans those that perpetrate it. She talks (why not a pod or a school?), and and the environment, Rose George to the victims and describes their describing a schooner, as a “square observes and explores the how and mental and physical torture and rigged wooden ship”; but I’m being the what of sea trade: its challenges, their fear. She laments the futility of pedantic, read and enjoy. its necessity, its risks and rewards, international eforts to overcome this its pollution, its relentlessness, Her ship is the Maersk Kendal and stateless crime against humanity. the loneliness of life at sea. She in part this book is a tribute to The patrol forces are constrained by provides an overview of the Maersk, but you can’t argue with the international law, the coastal State is international regulatory environment, impressive growth and proftability not equipped or inclined to intercede, the obligations stemming from of the world leader in the box trade, and other nations are reluctant to
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 67 bring the problem home. digressions in Joseph Heller’s Catch both will enjoy the voyage. It is clear 22 when we fnd ourselves suddenly that Rose George enjoyed her voyage. Rose George is a researcher and transported from Salalah to a Mission She has contracted the unexplained she has not only written what she to Seafarers in Immingham, then and inescapable attraction of the sea saw, she has dug deeply behind from the coast of Sumatra to chasing and become a victim of the romance those observations, to set them in right whales and copepods of Cape of the oceans. She has bonded with a well-considered context. It is not Cod. Like Dr Who, we travel instantly the crew and hesitates to go ashore, surprising that she has resorted to a in space and time from the perils of for “friendship, say seafarers, ends at library of research materials to fll the search and rescue near the Solomon the gangway.” – ROD NAIRN book with interest. After all, those Islands, to the battle of the Atlantic who have been to sea realise that not during World War II to relive stories of every minute is flled with wonder and death or survival. I thought this was excitement. Surprisingly, for a book a modern sea voyage from Europe that reads like a novel, Ninety Percent to Asia – but that is only the façade, of Everything comes complete with it is a collection of stories of the detailed endnotes and an index, enduring struggle of seafarers linked, together totalling 38 pages. The only somewhat tenuously at times, by the annoyance is that the endnotes are common thread of the fundamental not referenced throughout the text truth that sea cargo is essential; which leaves the reader to either almost everything travels by sea. discover them by accident (as I did) or stumble into them at the end of the Ninety Percent of Everything is a read, when the impact is lost. book to read and then to keep on the bookshelf, to lend to someone else in Possibly as a result of her extensive need of enlightenment. The seafarer research, at some parts, the book will nod and reminisce, empathising becomes frustrating; she seems so with the master as he laments the intent on emptying facts and stories fall in standards of seafarers in the onto the pages that the book seems rush for cuts and cost savings, the *First published in Shipping Australia Magazine, Summer 2013. Republished here due to its to lose its fow and purpose. I am landsman will be constantly surprised strong relevance to the current COVID-19 reminded of the endless, frustrating as a hidden world is revealed, but international supply chain disruptions.
Who We Are
www.neptunepacific.com Neptune Pacific Line is a ship owner and operator, active in liner and project cargoes in the Pacific. Through connecting carrier agreements and third party agency agreements, Neptune Pacific Line provides the service for their customers to trade between Oceania and Delivering the rest of the world. Legendary Service The Neptune Pacific Line Group We provide containerised, over-dimensional has an extensive Pacific Island cargo and bulk liner shipping services service footprint in –
Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Norfolk Islands, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa, American Samoa, Nuku’alofa, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Tahiti, Tuvalua, Papua New Guinea, Noumea, Tarawa and Majuro.
68 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020 LETTER TO THE EDITOR
A readers response to ‘The Future of Power’ article in the Spring Summer 2019 edition
Dear Editor, misleading misrepresentation of cases, the mines have been bought the coal industry in Australia. I say by the overseas buyers of the coal; I refer to the unattributed ’Feature’’ assume as my email exchanges with in other cases, local independent article, The Future of Power Shipping Australia reveal that the miners are now operating and ‘published in the Spring Summer article was submitted to Shipping beneftting from growing demand. edition of the Shipping Australia Australia on the condition it would magazine. An integral objective has involved an maintain the anonymity of the author. endeavour to create the false belief It is a most biased and misleading Hardly the act of a person who has that there is limited economic life in article predicting the demise of coal the courage to stand behind his own existing and future coal mines. This by 2030; ‘’renewables could drive claimed beliefs. article is a blatant attempt to convey coal out of the Australian market Many years ago the former Greens this falsehood. by 2030’’. This is a complete leader openly conceded that fabrication unsupportable by the The correspondent dances around protestors locking themselves to mine facts. According to a recent Wood the reliability faw with renewables; site gates and chaining themselves to Mackenzie study thermal coal use that is what you do when the wind trees had been unsuccessful. will only continue to grow until a doesn’t blow and sun doesn’t shine? peak in 2027.’’ The use of coal will He revealed a new multi-faceted The article does concede there is a extend well beyond the decade strategy had been developed which problem and that ‘’for longer term after that. I have no problem with involved the following; storage … Australia is going to need others expressing their views and something with a bit more weight 1. Attack the Government approval opinions contrary to mine but this to it.’’ This is in itself misleading process. Lobby Government and article extends beyond that reach, and a gross understatement of the individual members of Parliament, it presents as fact some false and defciency of renewables. There is seek direct parliamentary misleading information. not only a ‘’longer term storage’’ representation and appeal the mine problem, there is also a short-term If the claims in the article were true approvals in the court system. This storage problem. For example, solar then our business and that of many strategy had been successful in cells without batteries cannot provide others associated with maritime achieving a ten year delay in Adani night-time (or on cloudy days) power. services in Queensland would receiving the fnal approval. The Considering renewables are currently be decimated by 2030. The coal Acland mine expansion has been satisfying less than 15 per cent of industry is not only important to your delayed by the State Government Australia’s power, the lack of storage members and readers, it is critical approval process and the courts for (batteries) will become more severe to the economic wellbeing of the 12 years. State of Queensland. Some anti- and disruptions to continuous power coal activists misleadingly claim that 2. Attack the banks and investors delivery as experienced by Victoria there are only a few hundred coal who lend and or invest in new mines. and SA, will become more frequent. miners jobs at stake. There are many This strategy has been successful; The author attempts to perpetuate more coal dependent jobs created none of the big four banks will lend the myth that renewables are cheaper in transport (rail) port infrastructure on any new greenfeld coal mine. and that new coal fred plants can’t (reclaimers and loaders), marine 3. Attack the mining companies who compete on cost. Pro-renewable surveyors, line and tug crews, mine coal regardless of whether it advocates when comparing the ships’ agents and of course marine be thermal or coking coal. We have relative costs do not include the pilotage, the list is near endless. seen the big end of town succumb to cost of storage required for efective The Queensland Government itself this pressure despite the proftability adoption of renewables. Without collects revenue of over $5 billion a of these mines. Multiple Australian storage, wind and solar renewables year in coal tax royalties. miners are committing to or have are unreliable whereas coal , LNG We can only assume the article is already exited highly proftable fred, hydro and nuclear plants can an anti-coal activist’s distorted and Australian coal mines. In some operate continuously 24 /7. The
Autumn / Winter 2020 I Shipping Australia Limited 69 required battery storage would high calorifc value (burn less to I consider the unattributed most likely near double the cost of create same amount of energy) publication of this article to be a expensive renewables which are compared to other sources of thermal regrettable misrepresentation of a already dependent on coal-fred coal such as Indonesia. key Queensland industry which will plants for base load. remain important to our State and 7. The reduction in emissions The correspondent applauds the possible by the use of new National economy beyond the next ability of the Tesla battery storage technology and more efcient decade. plant in SA. I well remember the coal fred plants. High energy low If the author of the article wishes manager of the Tomago aluminium emissions (HELE) plants are already to respond to the above, we would smelter in the Hunter Valley saying being built and used in China and respectfully suggest it’s publication the Tesla battery storage capacity Japan. would be insufcient to run his plant by SA is conditional upon the author for more than 8 minutes. The article also claims that there is agreeing to reveal his identity, his a substitute for coking coal; this is a employer and or the organisation he If the anti-coal lobby believes that new claim I had not previously heard. represents. the cost of coal-fred plants are The author does not provide an more expensive than renewables, Best regards why is that lower cost of renewables explanation as to what the substitute being ignored by nearly all Asian material or alternate steel making Perry Sutton power generators? If renewables process might be? TORRES PILOTS PTY LTD are cheaper, why are India and China building or planning to build another 500 coal-fred power plants? The article avoids many issues damaging to the anti-coal lobby’s claims; there is no mention of: 1. The near doubling of electricity prices over the last fve years, accompanying the transfer to renewables and the shutdown of coal-fred plants. 2. The billions of dollars of taxpayer funded subsidies being paid to renewable power producers to facilitate the transfer to renewables. 3. The adverse economic impact of higher energy costs and unreliability solely attributable to the closure of coal-fred plants and the conversion to renewables, the loss of Australian manufacturing and associated employment. Contrary to the experience in South Australia, the anti-coal lobby claims ‘’clean energy’’ will create more employment; this is demonstrably known to be a nonsense in Australia. 4. The huge amount of emissions being generated by the fabrication and transport of these huge windfarms and solar cells. The author doesn’t mention the recycling problems with the nasties used in the fabrication of solar panels, which possibly have a life of 20 years. 5. Former Greens leader Bob Brown has identifed wind turbines as killing signifcant numbers of large bird species and are a serious environmental problem. 6. The reduction of emissions possible by the use of Australian high-quality thermal coal; low ash residual, low sulphur content and
70 Shipping Australia Limited I Autumn / Winter 2020