Shipping Australia has filed a submission with the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment in relation to its consultation on in-water hull cleaning standards.
The ocean shipping is a global industry and therefore needs standardised global regulations to operate.
Shipping Australia has urged the Federal Department of Agriculture, Water & the Environment to ensure that its standards on in-water cleaning align with, and are consistent with, the current international standards as issued by BIMCO.
Shipping Australia has also urged that, in Australia specifically, there should only be one standard that applies in all States and Territories.
We have specifically urged that once a ship is cleared to enter by a government body in Australia, then it should be free to enter all jurisdictions in Australia and that State and Territory based bodies should not over-ride, amend, or countermand decisions of other bodies; ships should not be turned away once they have been cleared to enter.
Ocean going ships are extraordinarily expensive assets to operate and, depending upon the exact circumstances, can cost over AUD$200 a MINUTE to operate (actual cost, not an opportunity cost) in the current markets*.
Ships should therefore not be delayed insofar as it is reasonably practicable.
*Note: figures are derived from publicly-available data. Data changes weekly.
