Every year we undertake a range of planned and responsive activities to keep people safe and to protect the marine environment. Compliance activities during the past year were conducted in accordance with the 2020-21 national compliance plan and focused on higher risk areas and informed by safety data.
A summary of our business-as-usual compliance activities can be found in the:
- Annual Port State control report
- Maritime Labour Convention Annual Report
- Marine Incidents Annual Reports for Domestic Commercial Vessels and the Regulated Australian Vessels and Foreign Flag Vessels.
Our performance against the focus areas identified in the 2020-21 annual compliance plan are detailed below.
2020 - 2021 focus area measured performance
Key:
| Met Target/On Track ✓✓ | Within Threshold ✓ | Outside Threshold |
| Desired outcome | Performance measure | 2020/21 Results | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port and flag state measured performance | |||
| Continue with target inspection rates based on vessel priority rating. * | Priority Group | Target Inspection Rate | Achieved Inspection Rate |
| Priority 1 | 80% | 84.1% ✓✓ | |
| Priority 2 | 60% | 67.5% ✓✓ | |
| Priority 3 | 40% | 47.8% ✓✓ | |
| Priority 4 | 20% | 35.1% ✓✓ | |
| Conduct a random sampling program of ship fuel, to validate the accuracy of bunker delivery notes against the fuel sampled and publish the outcomes. | Conduct a random sampling program of ships fuels – at least 10 vessels and publish the outcomes | Commenced in June 2021 | |
| Conduct an inspection campaign focussed on container securing arrangements and procedures which will include inspections of securing gear | Completed October 31st, 2020 | 208 Cargo securing inspections were carried out the results confirmed. ✓✓ Inspection results and supporting guidance published in the maritime safety awareness bulletin issue 13 – March 2021 “Preventing container loss” | |
| Flag State Inspections | 120 | 87* ✓ See Impacts of Covid-19 | |
| Maritime Labour Convention measured performance | |||
| 100% of MLC complaints are followed up | 100% of complaints are followed up | 100% of all Maritime Labour Convention complaints were followed up. ✓✓ 180 complaints were received in relation to MN04/2020 and 180 were investigated and resolved. ✓✓ | |
| Support seafarer mental health and wellbeing during COVID-19 pandemic | Publish a maritime safety awareness bulletin on seafarer mental health | Seafarer mental health campaign 25 June 2020 until 10 December 2020 ✓✓ Safety Awareness Bulletin #12 – September 2020 Issue. Managing mental health at sea. ✓✓ Marine Notice 04/2020 -Maximum Period of shipboard service for seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic | |
| Domestic commercial vessels measured performance | |||
| Continue to target inspection rates based on vessel priority rating* | Conduct 2200 vessel inspections | 2315 Inspections conducted ✓✓ | |
| Priority Group | Target Number of Inspections | Achieved Number of Inspections | |
| Priority 1 | 1020 | 905* ✓ See Impacts of Covid-19 | |
| Priority 2 | 370 | 589 ✓✓ | |
| Priority 3 | 654 | 525 ✓ | |
| Priority 4 | 156 | 296 ✓✓ | |
| Conduct at sea inspection campaigns with our compliance partners* | 60 days at sea with our compliance partners | 64 days ✓✓ | |
| Three educational Campaigns focusing on passenger safety, tender operations and EPIRBS | Passenger Safety Campaign | May 2020 to January 2021 ✓✓ | |
| EPIRB Safety Campaign | Safety campaign included. Educational campaign (March – December 2020): Social media (March 2021) - 525,781 recipients reached, including 26,669 views of videos. Guidance and awareness information | ||
| Tender operations safety campaign | Educational campaign conducted from November 2020- April 2021 ✓✓ | ||
| A minimum of three focussed inspection campaigns will also be conducted following delivery of the above education safety campaigns | Passenger safety | Inspections- 129 ✓✓ Notices issued -3 ✓✓ Vessels with Deficiencies- 62 ✓✓ | |
| EPIRB safety | Focused Inspections (February – April 2021) – 258 completed with 91% of inspected vessels compliant nationally. | ||
| Tender (dory) inspection Campaign (Qld) | 61 Parent/Dory vessel operations were inspected in Qld with 2 being issued compliance notices. This is down from the 18 compliance notices issued in 2019 from 71 inspections. ✓✓ | ||
5 Note: Where indicated the performance measure may be based on the 2020 calendar year data due to the national compliance plan, planning cycle
*Performance Measure is based on 2020 data
Impact of COVID-19 on measured performance
AMSA, like much of our regulated maritime community, was impacted by COVID-19. Measures taken to protect our people from COVID-19 in Australia have had an impact on our compliance activities.
While at times we had a reduced presence in the field, or deferred compliance activities to ensure the safety of our staff and industry, we conducted inspections and surveillance activities as necessary, and continued to fully investigate the very serious and serious incidents.
Two examples of how COVID-19 impacted our 2020-2021 measured performance:
- not achieving the targeted number of priority 1 domestic commercial vessel inspections was attributed to the substantial number of tourism passenger vessels that were not in operation due to the impacts on COVID-19.
- the targeted number of flag state inspections were not achieved, due to international travel restrictions and several regulated Australian vessels being laid up in 2020.
In 2021-2022, we will continue to apply our compliance and enforcement policy, and where the risk is such that action must be taken, we will continue to do so in collaboration with our compliance partners.
We are well aware of the impacts that COVID-19 has had on sectors of the maritime industry and we will continue to work with you to bring your operation into compliance and back on the water as soon as possible.