Industrial Reports Jan 2020 Industrial Report January 2021 MEMBERS’ MONTHLY MEETINGS Please note that monthly face to face meetings will take place on further notice. Please refer to the Executive Officer’s Report. 01 President’sFederal Report Mark Davis Executive Officer Welcome to 2021 We’re already well into the new year and COVID-19 flare-ups are We have now agreed that AMOU will have a scheduled weekly call with happening here in NSW, QLD and NZ despite strong defensive Trident & Shell Tankers Australia (STAPL) to discuss any concerns and look for regimes. This is something we will have to continue to endure at solutions in advance rather than regularly resort to the arbitration process. least until widespread vaccination has had an impact. In the meantime, monthly face-to-face meetings are suspended. On February 23rd we will schedule a Teams video/telephone WILLIAM (BILL) MCKANDER FORSTER conference into which interested members will be given a link to 30.05.1937 – 10.01.2021 dial in. This conference will be chaired by The AMOU President MASTER MARINER Ken Blackband and industrial staff and me will be on the call to Captain Bill Forster was farewelled with a service Woronora Memorial Park brief members and answer questions. An agenda will be made Sutherland on Friday 15th January 2021. He was 83 years of age. available to members closer to the time. The proposed local start times for the conference are as follows: Bill went to sea as a 16-year-old Apprentice with Ampol Tankers on MV William G. Walkley. He went on to have a long and successful career as NSW & VIC 1300 hours Master with the Australian National Line. SA 1230 hours QLD 1200 hours Bill was a proud and strong member of AMOU and MSG. NT 1130 hours WA 1000 hours Fair winds and following seas Captain Bill Forster. Poseidon Sea Pilots Some members have expressed concerns regarding this Serco tug deployment company, which is seeking expressions of interest from pilots to For the second time in 6 months Serco has proposed to its crews work in Brisbane. Would members please contact me on 0437 that a tug is deployed on commercial towage in Port Botany. The main 099 886 or [email protected] if any approaches are made problem is that the Master is being asked to hand command and control from PSP or their associates. Similarly, it would be appreciated of the tug over to Engage Marine. The AMOU was not consulted directly if members would not express interest or respond to any about this but members expressed valid concerns and these issues were approaches without first contacting me. addressed to the company (in summary): Teekay Marine Resources & Teekay Shipping 1. Serco Master expected to hand over command to a Master of unknown experience, skill and competence. Unreasonable to ask Master to compromise Australia vessels professional obligations to ensure the safety of crew, tug and port. The settlement with Teekay for the enterprise agreement for the ADV Ocean Protector (Customs Australian Defence Vessel) 2. Manning of the tug for the voyages and split of the manning once the tug is has been approved by the Fair Work Commission and has been preparing for towage. Is deckhand and engineer also expected to make way sent to AMOU members. for non-Serco personnel? Trident LNG 3. Familiarity of non-Serco Master with tugs of this type. The MOU signed with this company that would allow in very 4. Comprehensive risk assessment conducted prior to the voyage? limited circumstances the introduction of non-Australian Officers into the LNG tanker fleet has been tested before the 5. Why is the tug not either time chartered with a full Serco crew or bareboat Continuity of Operations Agreement Arbitrator. Trident has chartered with non-Serco crew. Both options create clearer obligations on been endeavouring to use the MOU to introduce Labour crew and charterer and do not muddy the waters like the proposed hybrid set- Agreement secondees to relieve Australian senior officers in up does. circumstances where we believe there is an Australian relief available. The arbitration allowed a secondee to relieve an 6. Level of additional remuneration that will be paid for the commercial job? Australian, but it was clear that the emphasis in the decision was that it would be case-by-case. AMOU has an excellent 7. What indemnification provisions will be put in place by Serco to protect the Master from potential lawsuits if an incident takes place? shipboard & delegate network that feeds in crew deployment concerns so we are generally on top of any scenarios that would For the second time, the AMOU issues were not addressed by a response suit the company attempting to introduce a visa-holder. and the towage as planned by Serco did not proceed. 02 02 Senate Report recommendations The report is from the Rural and Regional and Transport R.24. That the Australian government amends the Navigation Act References Committee and its title is “Policy, regulatory, taxation, 2012 to restore an appropriate balance in ships that are covered by administrative and funding priorities for Australian shipping.” the Navigation Act as Regulated Australian Vessels, and those AMOU & AIMPE did a joint submission to the Committee. Some covered by the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) of the more eye-catching recommendations from the Report are National Law Act 2012 as Domestic Commercial Vessels, to ensure as follows: the Navigation Act provides the default standards for Australian commercial ships. R.1.That the Australian government quantifies and reviews the level of subsidisation across competing modes of transport to I know you’ll agree there is a lot of recommendations that are on ensure that shipping is able to compete on an equal basis in the money and totally consistent with our advocacy. We had some accessing the infrastructure and markets it requires to operate. friends on the Committee. How this translates into government policy is the next space to watch. This is the link to the PDF version R.2. That the Australian government reviews Australia’s coastal of the full report: trading framework to ensure that Australian shipping supports https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/report the growth of emerging markets and trade, such as coastal LNG sen/024290/toc_pdf/Policy,regulatory,taxation,administrativeandf trading, offshore wind energy, and the expedition cruise sector. undingprioritiesforAustralianshipping.pdf;fileType=application%2Fp df R.8. That the Australian government reviews the maritime tax concessions currently in place to ensure that Australia's tax system is competitive with other jurisdictions, and that it promotes the use of Australian ships and crews. R.10. That the Australian government commits to establish a strategic fleet, and that a strategic fleet taskforce be established to advise on the legislative, operational, funding, and requisitioning arrangements necessary to establish a strategic fleet. R.13. That the Australian government identifies develops and implements policies to arrest the decline in Australia’s maritime employment opportunities and promotes seafaring as a career for younger Australians. This process should be guided by a maritime workforce development stakeholder forum. R.18. That the Australian government develops a fuel security strategy, which will include proposals to transition to locally sourced fuels as well as address supply issues. R.19. That the Australian government meets its obligations as a member of the International Energy Agency to maintain emergency oil stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of annual net oil imports. R.20. That the Australian government develops a national security strategy, supported by an Australian shipping capability, to ensure that Australia’s supply of essential items is not disrupted during crises and emergencies. R.23. That the Australian government improves safety on domestic vessels, including by expanding the jurisdiction of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to include incidents on domestic vessels; and that the Australian government commissions an independent review of the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Act 2012 to consider whether it provides clear and simple standards for training, crewing, and qualifications to improve marine safety on domestic commercial vessels. StOft 0604 03 Western Area Glenn Andersen Western Area Secretary & Organiser Captain Sam Frogley Toll Energy th On January 13 Sam Frogley died in a hotel room in Darwin. The The Toll Astrolabe redundancies have taken place, the Solstad Police say there were no suspicious circumstances. He leaves a vessel Normand Skimmer has taken over the contract. Toll widow and a 10-year-old son. At the time he was completing a repeatedly got the redundancy amounts wrong. They were Covid-19 isolation before joining his vessel in Dampier. The exact using the previous EA to work off. This meant employees were circumstances surrounding his death are unknown at this stage. losing 1 week’s redundancy pay, per year. It is still not fully However, the language used by the Police gives an indication. If that sorted. The 2020 EA gave those deck officers an extra week’s indication turns out to be true Mrs Frogley, and her son may not be redundancy per year of service, to a ten-year employee – and entitled to any form of compensation, as insurance companies carry there were a few – it was worth an extra $30,000-$40,000. the financial liability. Talking to Mrs Frogley and Deck Officers who knew Sam leads me to believe they have no assets other than a car. INPEX Sam was a Farstad Cadet that spent many years working outside The INPEX training fund has led to numbers of new members Australia. He was not a member of the AMOU.