Jim Wilson

A pan-Asian maritime forum was held in Melbourne earlier this week. Shipping Australia’s Mehrangiz Shahbakhsh, who attended this invitation-only event, reported that some of the themes discussed included safety, security, economy, ocean health, mechanisms to foster regional collaboration, people-to-people maritime diplomacy, the blue economy, regular maritime dialogues, capacity-building maritime training and exercises, the High Seas...

Safety is paramount in the Australian maritime sector, and one critical aspect is fire suppression safety. As many people within the Australian maritime sector know, the marine industry is exposed to various fire hazards, ranging from engine room mishaps, galley accidents and more. Vessels that can be affected by fire range from leisure craft through...

Bigger ships and bigger waves make container losses more likely on box ships, new research by industry P&I (Protection & Indemnity) Club, Gard, has revealed. The six-year average claims frequency for container stack collapses for feeder vessels (less than 3,000 TEU) is 1% over  a five-year period, Gard found, and that figure rises to 9%...

Shipping Australia was saddened this week to wish Len Phillips, General Manager of shipping line HMM Australia, a fond farewell from the shipping industry. Mr Phillips has recently announced his retirement and, accordingly, will step away as the HMM representative at Shipping Australia after several years. Shipping Australia acknowledges, and thanks him for, his efforts...

Shipping Australia was pleased to host Mr Mick Kinley, CEO of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, at a recent meeting of members. Mr Kinley gave a wide ranging talk / presentation on numerous important maritime safety matters in Australia today. Observing that funding for seafarer welfare is an issue, he noted that welfare bodies are...

A CEO-search is now underway at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Current CEO, Mick Kinley, announced at the end of 2023 that he would retire at the end of his current term, which concludes in September this year. Executive recruitment company, Derwent, is now handling the search. If you want to apply, you will need...

Shipping Australia has begun a nationwide industry-government project that will provide help and guidance to ship operators that are calling in Australia, especially those operators that are calling in Australia for the first time. We had repeatedly heard from the shipping industry that ships were being delayed during loading and discharge because of a lack...

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the global trade association for shipowners and operators, has launched a set of ‘Industry principles for establishing effective measures to combat and eliminate harassment and bullying in the maritime sector.’ The principles have been published against the backdrop of a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) – alongside...

Shipping Australia was pleased to play to host to a visit from Captain John Lloyd, CEO of the Nautical Institute. The Institute is UK-based global non-governmental organisation for maritime professionals; it has over 7,000 members in more than 110 countries. The Institute has consultative status at the IMO. Its aims are to improve standards of...

Shipping Australia is pleased to be in discussions with the national maritime safety regulator, The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, about a trial a project at select ports to boost opportunities to have ship’s garbage recycled onshore. You can find out more about “The Maritime Recycling Project” here. Ships inevitably – and just like many other...