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April 2019
Working into the future
Safety, sustainability and environment
Search and rescue Little Ferry Co Timber Creek rangers
Race against Tropical Going electric on Protecting country and culture
Cyclone Owen Perth’s Swan River
Message
from the CEO
Working Boats is published by the
Message from the CEO
Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
Subscribe to Working Boats
amsa.gov.au/subscribe We should all care for the natural environment for its own sake, but for
The Australian Maritime Safety
commercial masters and crew the sustainability of marine ecosystems is
Authority encourages the dissemination often also the key to making a living on the water.
and exchange of information provided
in this publication.
Australia has pristine environments supporting marine tourism, from
the Kimberley to Tasmania’s wild coastlines. Our lakes and rivers host
Except as otherwise specified, all houseboats for hire and many other tourism businesses.
material presented in this publication
is provided under Creative Commons Fishing industries of course also depend on a strong and healthy marine
Attribution 4.0 International licence. environment. Many fishing vessels are family operations, which fishers plan
This excludes: to pass to their children. Family businesses like those really drive home the
• the Commonwealth Coat of Arms importance of protecting the environment for the next generation.
• this department’s logo
• content supplied by third parties. In this edition, you will find examples of working boats contributing
to environmental sustainability. We feature electric vessels operating
The Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
in Western Australia, Indigenous sea rangers working in the Northern
International Licence is a standard form
Territory, and the impressive Reef Ranger vessel patrolling the Great
licence agreement that allows you to
copy, distribute, transmit and adapt this
Barrier Reef Marine Park.
publication provided that you attribute
Many people in our industry contribute to environmental health by
the work. The details of the version
supporting marine science, operating the vessels scientists need for their
4.0 of the licence are available on the
Creative Commons website, as is the
work. Late last year, I was very pleased to see AMSA contribute to marine
full legal code for that licence. science, not with a vessel but using our Challenger search and rescue jet.
The crew combined a search and rescue training flight with monitoring
Attribution of coral spawn off the Queensland coast. You can learn more about the
AMSA’s preference is that you attribute incredible natural phenomenon of coral spawn in this edition as well.
this publication (and any material sourced
from it) using the following wording: Since my early career at sea, I’ve been astonished by how our awareness
Source: Australian Maritime Safety of environmental sustainability has advanced. Our marine environments
Authority Working Boats April 2019. still face existential threats, but with the awareness and the technology
More information
we’re now seeing in environmental protection, I feel more optimistic about
For enquiries regarding copyright safeguarding our marine ecosystems and the businesses relying on them.
including requests to use material in
a way that is beyond the scope of the
terms of use that apply to it, please
contact us at AMSA Connect on
1800 627 484.
Editor Sarah Cameron
Designer Jacqui Pond
Contributors Mick Kinley
Dan Glover David Sexton
Chief Executive Officer
Peter Strachan Brad Roberts
Daniel Redondo Zoe Caley
Gerard Walsh Kim Green
Front cover image
Preparing to dive
Image source: Pro Dive Lord Howe
Contents
Working Boats
April 2019
1
Profile
Little Ferry Co
Combining a quintessential Art Deco
boating experience with modern
eco-friendly power.
14 17 20 25
Timber Creek rangers Tug safety Race against Tropical A day in the life of a
Cyclone Owen remote tourism operator
Protecting country and culture. Neil Hall from Smit Lamnalco
talks about controlling risk. A race against Tropical Cyclone Operating in Australia’s
Owen to rescue three stranded picturesque far northwest.
fishers.
Little Ferry Co 1 Floating debris 23
Little Ferry Co crew staying connected 3 Know what to do in a hook-up incident 24
Implementing our national system 4 A day in the life of a remote tourism operator 25
AMSA does its bit for coral spawning 6 From the vault 27
Adelaide River Cruises 7 Reef Ranger 29
Pro Dive Lord Howe Island 9 Cape Don Lighthouse 31
Fishing for danger 13 What are we hearing from you? 32
Timber Creek rangers 14 What do you do on your boat to look after the
34
Making maintenance work for you 15 environment?
Tug safety 17 Community events 35
Pacific Wind Cruises—an accessible charter 19 The galley 36
Race against Tropical Cyclone Owen 20
Little Ferry Co
Combining a quintessential Art Deco
boating experience with modern
eco-friendly power means this little ferry
company is securing itself a big future.
By Sarah Cameron
Eco-friendly: Little Ferry Co on the Swan River at sunset – Supplied by Little Ferry Co
Profile
Perth
er
Indian Ocean Riv
S wan
Fremantle
Little Ferry Co has only been in on the water three-and-a-half years ago
operation since 2016 but it has it was pretty exciting in terms of the
quickly revealed a niche market survey inspection regime and seeing
how they would run.
for river transportation connecting
inner-Perth cultural destinations ‘But even in three years, you now see
along the Swan River. so many more electric vessels and the
survey process has become even more
Locals and tourists alike use the ferry straight forward,’ he said.
service to visit historic Claisebrook
Cove, the new Optus Stadium, On ‘Solar-electric power is ‘Our vessels are in survey frequency
category “low”, so we do both an in-
the Point entertainment precinct and
Elizabeth Quay, as well as chartering
ideal for the nature of water and out-of-water survey every
the ferries for special events. our operation—small five years.’
Little Ferry Co owner Kevyn Townley vessels, short runs, ‘The moment you put paying
said the design of the vessels—which and a small number passengers on board you introduce
a measure of risk but our survey is
can each carry up to 11 passengers—
is a homage to 1920s Art Deco design.
of passengers.’ confined to the river (sheltered waters).’
‘They are an Edwardian tender boat — Kevyn Townley Kevyn said that at present there are
style design and also reflect the style of only two ferry services running on the
the older ferries that used to transport Swan River.
passengers across the Swan River back ‘One of the biggest cries from locals
in the late 1800s and early 1900s. is “Why don’t we have more ferries in
Perth?”’, he said.
‘Yet in contrast with the aesthetic leap
back in time, each vessel has a state- ‘And of course the other thing is
nowadays we no longer want to be ‘The geography of our river and our
of-the-art electric motor, allowing the city doesn’t lend itself to a busy ferry
polluting our air and our water. A
vessels to slip silently through the connect—the expanse of the river is
collective voice is increasingly saying
water. Passengers can appreciate their quite wide and at present there’s not a
“we don’t want to do that anymore”’,
surroundings without the noise and lot of commercial activity happening
Kevyn said.
fumes of a diesel engine. on the South Perth foreshore.
‘Once you start getting longer routes,
‘About 35 per cent of our power comes ‘But having said all that, there’s enough
you are carrying more passengers and
from the solar panelling on the roof of development going on up river for us
you need to go faster than what we
each vessel and the balance comes to seriously look at a larger vessel in
are doing, it gets challenging for solar-
through charging from the mains. the future.’
electric boats.’
We have a couple of banks of lithium-
ion batteries on board which we Kevyn said it’s pretty easy to get an
littleferryco.com.au
recharge overnight,’ Kevyn said. electric vessel surveyed nowadays.
@littleferryco
‘Solar-electric power is ideal for our ‘It’s really quite interesting how quickly @littleferryco
operation—small vessels, short runs, technology progresses along. When we
#littleferryco
and a small number of passengers. had the boats designed and put them
Working Boats April 2019 2
Profile
Little Ferry Co skippers: Mark Loader (left) and Bob Larkman.
Little Ferry Co crew staying connected
The crew at Little Ferry Co use a closed Facebook community—by invite only—
to keep each other abreast of safety hazards, information and new ideas.
We spoke to skippers Mark Loader and Bob Larkman for details.
By Sarah Cameron
This method of keeping everyone ‘Any navigational warnings, temporary They also use the community page
in the loop is dependent on notices for mariners—skippers don’t to brainstorm procedures to address
mobile phone coverage, but this tend to go and read those—we put safety issues.
all that information on our Facebook
isn’t an issue for the skippers of ‘An example is coming up with a new
community page and everyone
Little Ferry Co, which operates procedure via our community page of
acknowledges it,’ Mark said.
well within the metropolitan calling other nearby vessels using VHF
area of Perth. The two skippers ‘Anything new that comes up we just radio to let them know we are passing
explained that this novel way of go on Facebook and say “Hey guys, by,’ Bob said.
communicating is so effective there’s a marker a bit further out than it
was because of the boat show”, or “It’s ‘The electric motors in our ferries
because each skipper has to like are silent and other operators don’t
very shallow at Claisebrooke Cove, so
new posts to show that they have you need to go slow”.’ hear us coming, so calling nearby
seen them, ensuring that everyone operators reduces the risk of other
gets across new information being ‘Also, when the bridge and river vessels backing into us at the quay for
communicated. closed because of the building of the example,’ he said.
Matagarup Bridge—linking the Optus
‘If one of us post on our Facebook stadium to East Perth—we posted the The skippers also use the page
community page it’s there for procedures for radioing the Matagarup to update themselves about the
reference, so you can scroll back and Bridge pilot when we passed through,’ information they provide to passengers.
find past information—it’s fantastic,’ Mark said. ‘We thought the Causeway bridge was
Bob said. built in 1846 but we realised it was
Bob added that they check the
The skippers said they use their weather, tide and wind each day actually built in 1843 so we put that
Facebook community page to share a and log a record on the Facebook on the Facebook community page.’
range of things, from safety hazards, community page so skippers know
to weather warnings and changes to what the conditions are going to be for
depth and navigational markers. the journeys.
3 Working Boats April 2019
National System
Implementing our national system
Nine months in we are starting to see the benefits of a single Australia-wide system.
Australia’s National System for Domestic SNAPSHOT: 1 July 2018 to 31 March 2019
Commercial Vessels brings together
seven sets of rules into a single regulatory Certificates of operation issued
function with nationally‐agreed standards. New certificates and renewals 2583
Applications once processed through Variation of certificates 203
seven maritime safety agencies are now Unique vessel identifiers 276
managed by one regulator—the Australian Exemptions 962
Maritime Safety Authority.
Certificates of survey issued
Bringing about this change was not without its New certificates 310
challenges. Seven sets of existing certificate
Renewals 864
records and vessel data had to be combined
Variation of certificates 378
into a single system, while new applications and
Exemption 02 and Exemption 40 626
operational questions kept coming in the door.
AMSA is the first to say this process of adjustment Certificates of competency issued
was not all smooth sailing. New certificates 2547
Revalidations 3683
The patience and willingness of our stakeholders
Variation of certificates 159
was a huge factor in getting through this period
Equivalent certificates 102
and we thank everyone who participated in user-
testing or took the time to let us know when
Examinations 253
they weren’t getting the service they expected.
Feedback is essential for us to improve our amsa.gov.au
services and systems design so please keep it Over 360,000 page visits each month.
coming. Other than our homepage, the top five
most visited pages are:
Coming up * Domestic qualifications
With any new service comes new ways of working * Qualifications and training
and new systems and processes to navigate. We * Vessels and operators
have a dedicated improvement project underway * Certificate of competency application
to cast a critical eye over the way we do things * Find a form.
internally and target ways we can improve.
AMSA Connect
Over the coming months, our focus will continue *
156,951 calls (approximately 50% of
to be on safety awareness and education. these related to domestic commercial
A number of campaigns are in the pipeline, vessels)
including safety management system workshops
* Calls answered in around 21 seconds
with a focus on fishing vessels and their
* Call duration approx. 6:20 minutes.
operations. We are also working on campaigns to
improve safety practices in high-risk industries.
Look out for more details at amsa.gov.au
Working Boats April 2019 4
Report maritime incidents directly
to AMSA in two simple steps
1. Submit an incident alert – as soon as practicable*
This lets us know a serious event has occurred.
Form 18 – Incident alert, or by other means
Serious marine incidents include:
• death or serious injury to a person
loss of a person overboard
loss of, or significant damage to, a vessel.
* You must submit an alert within 4 hours, then follow this
up with an incident report within 72 hours
2. Submit an incident report – within 72 hours
This gives us detailed information about the incident and
mitigation measures.
Form 19 – Incident report
Other types of marine incidents you need to report:
• fire
• loss of stability
• fouling of a vessel
• a close quarters situation
• any event that could impact the safety of a vessel, those
on board or nearby.
Submit forms via amsa.gov.au or email completed forms to reports@amsa.gov.au
Visit amsa.gov.au/
incident-reporting
Call AMSA CONNECT 1800 627 484
Environment
AMSA does its bit
for coral spawning
By David Sexton
Originally published in Daily Cargo News
Image source: iStock.com/konwarawat janhom
Oceanographers from the AIMS oceanographer Craig Steinberg While AMSA undertook the deployment
Australian Institute of Marine said the real-time information from from the air, AIMS marine biologist
Science (AIMS) teamed up with the buoys revealed that the slicks had Dr Andrew Heyward was on the water,
floated 52 kilometres in five days. watching close-up.
AMSA last November to track
coral spawn slicks on the Great Mr Steinberg said the on-water Dr Heyward said most coral species
Barrier Reef. observations found small slicks could
released buoyant egg and sperm
bundles after dark, in the spectacular
The Cairns-based AMSA Challenger form and move quickly across the
annual spawning event that typically
jet aircraft was used to deploy self- reef, or dissipate if the wind created occurs four to six nights in November,
locating datum marker buoys with whitecaps. after the full moon.
satellite-tracking technology into the
sea near Darley Reef off Townsville and ‘We want to better understand the Dr Heyward said floating spawn slicks
Hope Reef off Bowen, to help track the connectivity of reefs so we know how could contain several million coral
movement of coral spawn slicks. they can be protected,’ he said. larvae per square metre.
AMSA Principal Advisor Aviation Assets ‘To do this we observed surface
Mike Wytcherley said they took the currents using these satellite buoys in
opportunity to combine the tracking order to gather this information, which
buoy drop with marine research during is quite rare.’
a recent audit flight.
‘We typically use the satellite buoys
to calculate surface drift and validate
search areas in search and rescue
operations,’ he said. ‘We want to better understand the connectivity of
‘The real-time GPS feeds from the reefs so we know how they can be protected.’
buoys give us vital information and are — Craig Steinberg
an effective tool in determining where
we search for people and vessels
missing at sea.’
Working Boats April 2019 6
Adelaide River Cruises
In the heart of the Northern Territory, home to some of the world’s most
deadly creatures, wildlife tourism operators need to pay close attention
to how they manage safety. We talk to Morgan Bowman about the
unique challenges of operating Adelaide River Cruises.
By Peter Strachan
Adventure awaits: aerial view of the Adelaide River which extends for 180 kilometres – Image source: iStock.com/JanelleLugge
7 Working Boats April 2019Profile
Jumping-crocodile tours are cutting-
edge wildlife tourism, which call for
operators who have plenty of local
knowledge, a keen eye for safety
issues and a desire to care for the
pristine environment. Darwin
Brothers, Morgan and Harry Bowman
and their wives Karen and Maxine spend
six months of each year showing about
15,000 tourists the grandeur and power
of magnificent, ancient reptiles on the
river, one hour east of Darwin.
‘We rigidly enforce the AMSA rules
on safety and ensure our customers
are fully briefed before any cruise—
everything from the location of life
jackets to the importance of not leaning
out from the boat,’ Morgan said. Adelaide River
‘The drive controls are at the back of
our boats. This ensures we can always
‘Timely see what our passengers are doing and
allows us to move quickly against any
maintenance is risky behaviour.’
a vital part of Maintenance is carried out whenever it is
our business needed as well as at regular prescribed
plan. You do not intervals.
This all allows us to give clients a very
want unexpected ‘Fortunately, we are only an hour from personal and informed experience, which
failures of Darwin so getting expert help quickly
and at reasonable cost is not a great
in turn helps ensure our sustainability.’
equipment in problem for us,’ Morgan said. The cruises operate at peak periods from
any undertaking, ‘Timely maintenance is a vital part of
May to August and to a slightly lesser
extent in September. The cruises are
but especially our business plan. You do not want
suspended during the wet season.
not when you unexpected failures of equipment in any
undertaking, but especially not when ‘We operate a 6-metre and a 10-metre
are dealing with you are dealing with holidaymakers in boat and can take up to 50 passengers
holidaymakers in an unfamiliar and potentially hostile using both. We find this gives us great
environment.’
an unfamiliar and flexibility while giving our customers the
safe but up-close experience they want,’
potentially hostile Mr Bowman said the partners put a
lot of time into building their personal Morgan said.
environment.’ knowledge of the river, its wildlife and
their surrounds. ‘Patronage is increasing and is mainly
— Morgan Bowman from people who live in Australia and
‘We know our crocodiles, starting with often from those travelling around the
the internationally recognised ‘Brutus’,’ country, but we do get some from Europe
he said. and smaller numbers from Asia.’
‘We study their habits and characteristics,
to help us understand the way they are
likely to react to our customers and us. adelaiderivercruises.com.au
Working Boats April 2019 8Profile
Pro Dive
Lord Howe Island
Diving the crystal-clear waters off Lord Howe Island
is rather like getting a rare glimpse of paradise.
By Peter Strachan
Professional adventurers: diving with sharks of Lord Howe Island – Supplied by Pro DIve Lord HoweProfile
From underwater caves to the must for dive enthusiasts,’ Aaron said. ‘As operators, we make sure we have
world’s tallest sea stack, 500 spares on hand at all times and for all
‘The pyramid is the only place known contingencies. This has developed a
species of fish and a wide range
in the world where divers can see the culture of preventative maintenance
of corals, these waters have it all. Ballina Angelfish at SCUBA depths. and ‘safety first’ in our team,’ he said.
But it’s not for the inexperienced
to tackle alone. ‘Couple this with huge coral reef trees, ‘If there was a major mechanical failure
steep drop offs, remarkable quantities on our vessel, the turnaround time
Seeing all this magnificent part of of fish from myriad species, massive would be increased considerably by the
the South Pacific has to offer and boulders, caves, swim-throughs and tyranny of distance. It could take us a
making it back safely, calls for expert more crayfish than you could poke a month to get an engine landed on the
professional support and extensive stick at. It’s not hard to see why year- island if we had to change one over.
local knowledge.
on-year more people come here to see
it for themselves,’ he said. ‘Add to that the additional costs of
Aaron Ralph, owner-
freight, and flying
operator of Pro
a mechanic out to
Dive Lord Howe
do the work and
Island and his team
our costs could
have been diving
be 30 per cent
these waters for 10
higher than on the
years. They know
mainland.’
the importance
of maintaining a Accessing national
professional and system services
safe operation. also provides
‘We cater for 2000 challenges for
dive enthusiasts business on the
each season and island.
our task is to ‘Online access has
ensure they see it only become readily
in safety and enjoy Getting in on the action: Filming a dive – Supplied by Pro Dive Lord Howe available to all of us
the experience,’ here in the last two
Aaron said. to three years,’
‘The combination of safety and During summer, the warm tropical Aaron said.
enjoyment is at the core of our waters from the East Australian ‘We need to pick up a land phone
business model and we have become Current dominate the ocean around to get assistance, as there is still no
renowned in the industry for it.’ the island and the pyramid. This brings mobile phone reception on the island.’
in oceanic wanderers, including giant
Lord Howe—a two-hour flight from ‘This means we need to plan time
manta rays and great hammerhead
Brisbane or Sydney—is home to the during work hours to make a phone
and whale sharks. The blue water also
world’s most southerly barrier reef
attracts wahoo and yellowfin tuna, call when we are not on the water,
and is fed by temperate and tropical
among others. which can prove difficult.’
currents. This allows both tropical and
temperate species of fish and corals to The island has its own networks to
Living and working in and around this
co-exist. call on for help in the event of an
island paradise also brings challenges
emergency. It operates on the working
One of its leading attractions is Balls and responsibilities for the dive team.
frequency of VHF 12. All operators
Pyramid, an impressive sea stack
‘Having limited access to materials and scan both 12 and 16 and the island
towering more than 560 metres above
services is the most challenging aspect police and port operations staff relay
the ocean and looking like something
of living and working here,’ Aaron said. important messages if there are
out of a fantasy movie.
transmission problems.
‘The pyramid is a separate volcano ‘The potential cost of unplanned
from Lord Howe Island and an oceanic failures means preventative
trench about 600 metres deep maintenance is vital to both safety and
separates the two—it’s an absolute viability of our business’, he said. Continued overleaf
Working Boats April 2019 10Profile
Continued from page 10
‘We cater for 2000 dive enthusiasts
each season and our task is to
‘Police and port operations are our
official representatives, although we ensure they see it in safety and
also have our unofficial volunteers enjoy the experience.’ — Aaron Ralph
working under the banner of Lord
Howe Island Maritime,’ Aaron said.
‘All commercial operators have
volunteered to take part in a vessel
monitoring system inside the marine
park. This system lets anybody log
into the database and see in real time
where vessels are and estimate their
time of return.
‘It’s a fantastic back-up when the VHF
or satellite phones aboard vessels
are not working as well as we would
like. The NSW Department of Primary
Industries has spearheaded this
program and there is a plan to bring in
text messaging through the system—
but it is not yet available on our system
on Lord Howe.’
The peak season for Pro Dive is from
November to April, with the busiest
time from mid-December to mid-
January. SCUBA diving is an activity for
fit and healthy people eight years and Tourism: Snorkelling around the Admiralty Islands – Supplied by Pro Dive Lord Howe
over, but snorkeling, kayaking, stand-up
paddle boarding are suitable for all age
groups.
Aaron said most of Pro Dive’s guests
are Australian, with baby boomers and
Generation Y heading the list and many
are repeat visits.
‘This is a beautiful island and people
rarely leave disappointed,’ he said.
prodivelordhoweisland.com.au
@prodivelhi
@ProDiveLordHowe
#prodivelhi Scenic route: Balls Pyramid, Lord Howe Island – Supplied by Pro Dive Lord Howe
11 Working Boats April 2019Safety management
‘While our support systems are
pretty good we must always
remain vigilant and realise we
operate in a remote location
with minimal rescue or medical
services. Prevention is far better
than even the most effective
remedy,’ Aaron said.
Remoteness makes safety
management systems even more
important in daily operations at
Pro Dive than they might be in
more supported areas.
‘We obviously follow the general
procedure stipulated by AMSA
when it comes to the format and
implementation of our safety
management system,’ Aaron said.
‘Our safety briefings are specific
and to the point. All passengers
who board our vessel are taken
through the safety equipment
and shown what to do in the
event of an emergency,’ he said.
Passengers are logged on
the vessel as a record of
their journey. The log is then
used as the divers’ log when
checking divers in and out of
the water. Crew are inducted
in the operation of the vessel
and their role and the skipper’s
expectations of them as crew
members. This training is
recorded and filed for reference.
‘All maintenance and issues
are logged in the vessel logs
and any incidents are recorded
as incident reports filed on
a computer in case they are
required for future reference,’
Aaron said.
‘Record keeping is vitally
important, as consistency is
paramount when dealing with
customers in a potentially
hazardous environment.’
Liaison: local operators from Lord Howe Island attend an information night – Supplied by AMSA Image supplied by Ola Löfquist
Working Boats April 2019 12Safety
Fishing for
danger
Some of Australia’s most
prized fishing waters are also
some of its most dangerous
due to the life-threatening
species inhabiting them.
Operators need to prepare for
the possibility of pulling up
more than they bargained for.
By Peter Strachan
Venomous: sea snakes in a plastic lug – Supplied by NPF Industry
Animals from highly venomous resulted in a short delay before the ‘A contributing factor may have been
sea snakes, jellyfish and stonefish, crew immobilised him. First aid was the mistaken belief that sea snake
to sharks and crocodiles, co-exist applied and an emergency evacuation fangs are at the back of the mouth
requested, but sadly the young man or in the throat, resulting in only bites
with sought-after shellfish and
died later that day. without venom.’
other marketable treasures.
NT Worksafe warns sea snakes are a NT Worksafe advised all nets should
After a fatal accident in the pristine
common hazard for commercial fishers. be visually inspected for venomous
Northern Prawn Fishery waters last
Many species inhabit this fishery area, or toxic marine creatures before they
year NT Worksafe issued a safety alert
stretching for 6000 kilometres along are handled. Puncture resistant gloves
in an effort to raise awareness of the
Australia’s northern coastline. They should be used to offset risks and all
dangers and to encourage greater
are all highly venomous and should be sea snake bites should be treated as
use of personal protection among
handled with extreme caution. medical emergencies—immobilise,
operators and crews.
splint, call for medical help and arrange
The authority says operators working The worker was not wearing any evacuation.
in areas shared by dangerous animals personal protective equipment to
shield himself against potential sea They also called for owners and
should clearly address the hazards in
snake bites or stings from other marine operators to review their safety
their safety management systems, to
creatures and the trawler’s safety systems to ensure they adequately
minimise risk of serious injury or death.
management system did not include cover sea snake bites and marine
The alert details the tragic incident of a appropriate procedures to manage the stings and inform new recruits about
worker aboard a prawn trawler, which risk of either bites or stings. the dangers and proper handling during
was operating in the Gulf of Carpentaria induction processes.
in October last year. The 23-year-old The alert says initial findings indicated
man died after he was bitten on the a level of complacency towards the ‘Ensure there are snake hooks or
hand by a poisonous sea snake while dangers of sea snakes in the fishing grabbers and never handle sea snakes
folding emptied trawl nets—the snake and aquaculture industry. by hand,’ it said.
was caught in the nets. Read the NT Worksafe safety alert
‘Workers routinely handle sea snakes
Managing the Risk of Sea Snake Bites
A co-worker picked up the snake and without personal protective equipment on the Fishing & Aquaculture Industry
threw it overboard and the bitten to throw the snakes back overboard,’ website at worksafe.nt.gov.au/Safety-
worker said he was fine—which it says. Alerts/default.aspx
13 Working Boats April 2019Culture
Timber Creek rangers
Timber Creek rangers undertake land management throughout the Victoria River
District in the Northern Territory. Now, after successfully attaining their Coxswain
Grade 2 (Certificate 1 in Maritime Operations), new opportunities are benefiting
the environment and the local community. By Peter Strachan
Coxswain training was provided by Timber Creek rangers have been ‘We want to ensure they benefit
registered training organisations involved in an important monitoring socially, culturally and economically
on-site in Timber Creek and on the program on the Victoria River, working from the secure possession of the land,
Victoria River. alongside CSIRO to record population waters and seas,’ he said.
estimates of endangered sawfish and
‘We selected the best qualified trainers sharks. With the continual support of the
in the skills we wanted our rangers Caring for Country branch, the
to have and got them to come out ‘The rangers experienced their first Northern Land Council Rangers have
to show them how to do everything trip on the river last August and they built and developed partnerships
safely in the areas where they would loved it. It allowed them to see and with external funding agencies in the
be working,’ said Timber Creek Ranger experience things they never have Territory and Federal Government
Coordinator Newton Hobbs. before,’ Newton said. departments, research bodies and
other organisations.
‘The result is a well-trained crew The crew is just one of the Northern
carrying out important functions Land Council’s ranger groups operating
in an area that is of great personal across more than 200,000 square
importance to us.’ kilometres of country in the Top End.
‘Protecting country and culture is so ‘We are proud of our ranger teams.
important,’ said Timber Creek ranger They all play vital roles in our vision
Floyd Rogers. ‘This is our home and to have the land and sea rights
country and we now have skills that we of traditional owners and affected
Read more about the ranger groups
can use to better protect our country Aboriginal people in the Top End operating across the Northern Territory.
for the next generation.’ recognised,’ said Caring for Country nlc.org.au/our-land-sea/
Manager, Matt Salmon. caring-for-country/ranger-program
Thanks to their hard work, the Timber
Creek rangers have now acquired a
powerboat.
‘The purchase of the vessel, Green
Hornet, has opened up a lot of
opportunities, including a five-year
partnership with CSIRO, which has
brought new knowledge and skills,’
Newton said.
‘It means Timber Creek and the
surrounding community share in
the benefits of conservation and
land management, including fire
management, survey and control of
feral animals and invasive weeds—and
now monitoring of threatened species Timber Creek rangers: Floyd Rogers (left), Richard Pillans and Aron Harrison hold sawfish on the
in the local river systems.’ Victoria River – Supplied by the Northern Land Council
Working Boats April 2019 14Safety
Regular maintenance system: workers unload the fishing nets – Supplied by Australian Wildcatch Fishing; Charlie Grech in one of his Blue Riviera boats –
Supplied by AMSA.
Making maintenance work for you
Maintenance systems are essential to the safety of a vessel and its operations and make
good business sense. By Brad Roberts and Sarah Cameron
Reducing the risk of expensive by a rotating crew of five. They fish database and see the engineers have
breakdowns or accidents increases predominantly for blue grenadier, rock fixed that refrigeration problem—
productivity by limiting costly ling, flathead, orange roughy and trevally. that’s good.
downtime. David explained they have a system ‘We keep those records in Excel—it’s
Operators must include a process where they log each vessel’s scheduled that simple. We can look back as far as
for managing the maintenance of and non-scheduled maintenance. five years to see when we last worked
their vessels within their safety on the rudder, for example. That’s one
They encourage their crewmembers side of maintenance.’
management system. However, to log every single unscheduled
operators can adapt their maintenance
maintenance issue that crops up, no David explained the other side of
system to suit their type of operation.
matter how big or small. maintenance is having good systems
Two operators from Victoria’s Lakes and procedures in place to be proactive
‘Maintenance jobs all go into one about maintenance.
Entrance region talked to us about how
database that you can go into and
they make their maintenance systems
create reports on a regular basis. Our ‘You’ve got your scheduled
work for them.
admin officer makes sure she gets the maintenance, your big things like your
David Guillot information from our staff to present docking and your vessel surveys. They
Co-owner, Australian Wildcatch Fishing to my brother—who co-owns the are in the schedule religiously and you
business with me—and myself.’ can see those coming up,’ he said.
Australian Wildcatch Fishing is a
multi-species fishery. They own four ‘Whether I’m at home or at sea, I ‘We also have a weekly checklist. If
vessels—two under 20 metres, each watch the lists in the database. I can you work for me as a master, you need
crewed by three people, and two see what’s getting done and when. to tick the boxes. When the masters
larger deep-sea trawlers crewed 24/7 For example, I might check in on the send in the checklist on a weekly basis,
15 Working Boats April 2019Make good maintenance your business
Smart maintenance practices can save time and money and
they might even save your life one day. Many maintenance
problems can go undetected until things go really wrong.
Taking shortcuts on basic maintenance can seriously risk
the safe operation of your vessel and the people on it. Good
maintenance practices include:
■ never skipping scheduled maintenance
■ replacing and/or fixing out-of-date or missing equipment
■ making sure modifications to machinery and equipment are
suitable
■ making sure machinery and equipment is installed properly.
Attempting emergency repairs at sea can be particularly
risky with time constraints, bad weather, vessel movement,
limited tools and technical skills all making for a messy set of
circumstances.
Don’t put your safety, business operation, or productively at
risk—good maintenance makes good business sense.
‘People’s lives come first—if the boat isn’t right, it doesn’t go out.’ — Charlie Grech
the staff in the office then compile ‘When some kinds of mistakes are lives come first—if the boat isn’t right, it
the information from everyone’s made, they cost me hours of admin doesn’t go out,’ he said.
spreadsheets together to get an time, so this system really works by
helping us address potential issues ‘When we pull the boats out of the
overview of what’s going on and where
before they get costly.’ water we check and clean the hulls. If
my problem areas are.’
repairs are needed, my son—who is a
‘We send the report to every Master to boat builder—does the work.’
australianwildcatchfishing.com
show them what has happened for that Each of the vessels at Blue Riviera
quarter. It helps them see where they Boat Hire undergoes servicing every
Charlie Grech
can improve and it shows us where we 50 hours.
Co-owner, Blue Riviera Boat Hire
need to focus on training.’
‘Each boat has an hour meter. When
‘Then there are processes for engineers Charlie and his wife Teresa own nine we check the oil and the motors, we
to follow, like pre-sailing checklists,’ he half-cab vessels and one barbeque also check the meter to see exactly
added. boat, which they rent out in their hire- when the service is due.’
and-drive operation.
‘These are particularly about the ‘I’m a diesel mechanic by trade but I
general navigation of the vessel— Charlie explained that even though take the boats to the local outboard
they are tough little boats with new motor dealer to be serviced. Each
your steering gear, because it tends
motors, they pull them out of the water motor comes with a service book that
to be locked away in a back hatch
to be checked each year. is stamped when the motor is serviced,
that nobody’s looking at, the engine
controls, life rafts, life rings, engines, ‘If you keep your vessels maintained you which serves as our record.’
greasing of things that need to be know they are okay and the passengers
greased weekly, and anchor winches.’ will have a good experience. People’s @bluerivierahireboats
Working Boats April 2019 16Safety
Tug safety
Heavy, with deep keels and extremely large propellers, tugboats are perfect for the grunt work
of pushing and pulling large vessels and barges. What you may not know is that their particular
purpose carries a precise set of risks. By Sarah Cameron
Neil Hall, Regional Safety, tug masters in all aspects of towage extremely knowledgeable on how
Health, Environment and Quality operations. This training encompasses towage operations run on a daily
Manager at Smit Lamnalco, newly hired masters right through to basis—they own the procedures.
our senior training masters.’
talked to us about the top three ‘At any time, crew can request a
risks that come with this kind of As part of the training program, all change to a procedure by using the
work and how Smit Lamnalco’s masters, including the senior training Smit Lamnalco change management
efforts to control them touch on masters, receive two training events process. We have had a number of
vessel maintenance, operational per year. These are a mixture of theory procedural recommendations from
and practical where they are trained local crew which have resulted in
procedures and training.
and checked. The company has set the changes to operational procedures
Risk 1: Vessel interactions program up very similar to an airline being adopted by Smit Lamnalco
check-and-train system. operations worldwide.’
At Smit Lamnalco where there are
normally two or three tugs working He said masters completing the Risk 2: Towline breakages
in close proximity, the biggest risk training were highly engaged.
associated with harbour towage Towline breakage is another risk Smit
‘The sessions are normally one-on-one. Lamnalco assesses continually and
operations is interaction between the It’s not about telling them what they
tugs and the vessels they are moving. mitigates through a strict regime of
are doing wrong, it’s about identifying
towline inspections and testing.
their areas for improvement,’ he said.
Neil explained this risk is best
managed through development of the ‘Our towlines are the heart and soul of
‘Sometimes we can be talking very
crew’s skill and competency. our operation—we really take care of
fine points, but when you’ve got 60
them. We maintain very tight controls
to 80 tonne pulling on a towline
‘We developed our own in-house tug over their condition, how long they
those fractions of seconds can really
masters training program, which was have been used, how many tows have
count. It’s important our masters are
rolled out last year.’ been performed and, maintaining a
continually trained.’
replacement regime,’ Neil described.
‘We have a number of senior training Neil added that crew ownership is
masters that visit each location where extremely important. ‘We maintain a towline register which
Smit Lamnalco operate. Their role records all of the line details. This detail
is to train, assess and develop our ‘The crew are highly skilled and includes purchase date and supplier,
17 Working Boats April 2019Safety
‘The planned maintenance
system is constantly
reviewed to ensure all
maintenance and safety
matters are current.’
— Neil Hall
line specification, certification details,
number and type of tow performed,
non-destructive testing and estimated
disposal date.’
‘We don’t use towlines to destruction,
we remove them from service before
we reach that point. Obviously, we
never want to break a towline—the
result could be disastrous.’
Risk 3: Mechanical failure
The maintenance of Smit Lamnalco
towage vessels is critical to their
business. Their customers require tugs
to be available 24 hours a day and in
top mechanical condition.
‘Smit Lamnalco runs a comprehensive
planned maintenance system which
highlights daily, weekly and monthly
tasks that are completed onboard,’ Neil
revealed.
‘The system also monitors the status of
compliance items such as firefighting
systems, lifesaving appliances and
regulatory certificates.’
‘The planned maintenance system is
constantly reviewed to ensure all
maintenance and safety matters are
current.’
Working together: (clockwise) Townsville tugs in action; crew giving the all clear; towline
connecting the tug to the ship – Supplied by Smit Lamnalco
smitlamnalco.com
Close calls
Neil explained that over the last few ‘The master always advises the ‘Our contract manager is the vital
months there had been a number pilot onboard when a situation like link between the tugs and the clients,
of near misses where vessels had this occurs, and will also submit an they will communicate the findings
accidently dropped the towlines onto incident report so the matter can be of the investigation so all parties are
the tugs. Luckily, the tug crews were investigated in an effort to prevent aware of the outcomes.’
clear of the area when this occurred near misses such as these from
and no one was injured. occurring again.’
Working Boats April 2019 18Safety
Pacific Wind Michael’s non-for-profit fishing
charter is open for business—
‘I wanted others to be able to
experience the relaxation of fishing and
Cruises—an to everyone. The boat Michael
designed is a therapeutic haven
being out on the water,’ he said.
accessible
But the continuation of this non-for-
for those with a disability and profit venture needs financial support.
wheelchair-accessibility needs.
charter ‘The boat is 100 per cent wheelchair
‘We are fundraising for new outboards
and maintenance equipment to allow
friendly and has an elevator for wheelies this service to continue to change the
to reach the top deck as well as lives of countless trauma sufferers,’
Being out on the water can
toilet– and shower-modified facilities, Michael said.
be a therapeutic experience and a 100 per cent wheelchair-friendly
for trauma sufferers, boosting kitchen,’ Michael said. ‘Any support is greatly appreciated.’
their overall well-being. Michael achieved his goal of operating If it wasn’t for the uniqueness of Pacific
Michael Brown’s accessible an accessible charter-boat business Wind’s design and Michael’s vision to
fishing charter does just that, through driving ambition. He himself make this possible, wheelchair bound
but upkeep of the specially a quadriplegic, knows firsthand the and physically challenged patrons
challenges of accessing things as would not have a chance to enjoy such
designed vessel relies on an experience.
simple as being able to jump on a
support from the wider boat to go fishing when you are in a
community. By Sarah Cameron wheelchair. wheelchairfriendlycharters.comSearch and
Rescue
EPIRB position
Distress signal: location of the EPIRB position on a map at AMSA Search and Rescue – image supplied by AMSA
Race against Tropical
Cyclone Owen
When AMSA detects a distress beacon, response time is always of the essence, but this rescue
mission was a race against Tropical Cyclone Owen to a remote scene of three stranded fishers
By Daniel Redondo and Sarah Cameron
In the early afternoon of response—the PLB was equipped a 120-metre-radius search area, but
12 December 2018, AMSA with global positioning system (GPS) a beacon without GPS takes between
detected a personal locator and the owner had registered the PLB 90 minutes and five hours to provide
with AMSA and provided emergency a location with a search radius of five
beacon (PLB) activation half a
contacts. kilometres.
nautical mile off South West Island
in the Northern Territory region of GPS-equipped emergency beacons In this case, AMSA received the GPS
the Gulf of Carpentaria. provide the location of the people position immediately, when they first
needing assistance much more quickly detected the activated beacon. Confident
The rescue response to this particular and accurately than those without with the accuracy of the position,
activation was more complex due to GPS. While both types send an alert to AMSA sent both the Cairns Challenger
the remoteness of where the beacon AMSA immediately, the time needed to aircraft—RSCU 330—and the Darwin
indicated, and the fact that Tropical provide a location varies. Careflight helicopter—Careflight 1—to
Cyclone Owen was forecast to hit the the scene straight away.
location at last light. However, two GPS-equipped beacons can take up to
things were instrumental in the quick 20 minutes to provide a location with Continued overleaf
Working Boats April 2019 20Search and
Rescue
Precision matters: EPIRBs equipped with GPS allow better search and rescue where every second matters – Image source: NASA
‘Providing emergency contacts not only helps AMSA respond to emergencies
more effectively, it’s also important to be able to let next of kin know that
their loved one is in an emergency situation.’ — Daniel Redondo
Continued from page 20 ‘A well-informed emergency contact can The people on board the vessel
be one of our best search and rescue indicated the vessel had broken down
assets and have in the past resolved and was at anchor.
AMSA Search and Rescue Officer incidents without needing to send out
Daniel Redondo said that when AMSA an aircraft or vessel to the location.’ During this time, Careflight 1 had
first detected the beacon alert they completed refuelling and was on its
were unable to contact the beacon’s AMSA then asked the Northern way to the scene. However, due to
owner because of the remoteness of Territory Water Police if they had any deteriorating weather conditions—
their location. However, the owner had vessels near enough to the location of including winds over 40 knots—rescue
the fishers to reach them before the by helicopter winch was no longer
provided an emergency contact when
arrival of the cyclone. At 15:00 hours feasible.
they registered the PLB.
the Northern Territory Water Police
tasked their vessel—Bombastic—to At 17:30 police vessel Bombastic
‘The contact quickly informed us that
the scene out of the McArthur River reported that it was at the mouth of
three people were on board the vessel the Carrington River, two nautical miles
and were on a fishing trip, which they with an ETA of 17:00 hours.
from the fishing vessel. AMSA had
had done previously. The contact also The Cairns Challenger aircraft spotted initially requested Bombastic to pick
knew where they departed, what type of the vessel at 16:00—three hours after up the three people from the stricken
vessel they were in and that none of the the fishers activated the PLB—and vessel. However, after finding the vessel
people on board were suffering from any confirmed that all three people were anchored in a reasonably sheltered
known medical conditions,’ he said. safe on board. location, the skipper of Bombastic
21 Working Boats April 2019Search and
Rescue
Located: Stranded fishers found by the Cairns Challenger aircraft – Supplied by AMSA; Careflight 1 rescue helicopter attended the incident – Supplied by Careflight
proceeded to tow the vessel and the ‘Make sure your beacon is registered
three fishers back to where it originally and that your emergency contacts are
departed without further incident to the people who will likely know where you
great relief of the fishers’ families. are, who you are with but also not likely Register your beacon
to be on the vessel or aircraft with you,’
Daniel said that providing emergency Register your distress beacon
he advised.
contacts not only helps AMSA respond or change the ownership details
to emergencies more effectively, it’s online at beacons.amsa.gov.au
also important to be able to let next of or phone 1800 406 406.
kin know that their loved one is in an GPS vs non-GPS
emergency situation. Make sure you list up to three
If you are in the market for a new emergency contacts when you
‘In this particular mission we stayed beacon, make sure it is equipped with register your beacon.
in regular contact with the next of kin GPS. Precision matters in life and death
to update them on the progress of situations where every second counts The best emergency contacts:
the rescue aircraft and the Northern and GPS-equipped beacons save hours.
• know where you are going and
Territory Water Police vessel against who you are going with
the deteriorating weather conditions, Difference between GPS and • know about your vessel
and then to pass on information about non-GPS encoded beacons
the wellbeing of the stranded fishers beacons.amsa.gov.au/ • are not with you when you go out.
and their recovery back to shore.’ purchasing/GPS-best.asp
Working Boats April 2019 22Environment
Quick wins
Floating debris
Floating debris
Secure items like fishing gear,
pens, phones and device
charges.
Secure garbage bins and make
sure crew and passengers
know where they are.
We are all familiar with the problem of rubbish in our oceans. Highlight to crew and
Floating debris is just the tip of the iceberg, but because of passengers that it is against
its mobility and appearance as food to marine life, it has a the law to throw rubbish
overboard.
particularly disturbing impact on the environment.
By Gerard Walsh Take all your rubbish ashore
to recycle and dispose of
properly.
Tiny fragments of plastic are While rubbish in our oceans
ingested by fish and shellfish. These predominately comes from land Contact your local marina,
micro plastics enter the food chain, sources, ships and boats are boat harbour, port or terminal
making animals and people sick. to find out what waste
also contributing to this problem.
collection and disposal
Pristine environments enjoyed by Plastic lines, ropes and fishing nets facilities are available.
locals and paying tourists are being significantly contribute to the issue, as
does other garbage generated on board Only use plastic packaging
tarnished by unsightly rubbish.
and other disposable items if
that ends up in the sea. But fishing
Marine animals are getting you can store it on your vessel
gear isn’t the only culprit—how often
entangled or ingesting items such until you can get back to
do you see things like cigarette butts, shore to dispose of it properly.
as plastic packing straps, straws,
shopping bags, packaging, straws,
bait holders, fishing line and foam Store waste fishing gear like
plastic bottle tops and stubby six-pack
packaging, causing injury and cut-off lengths of rope or line,
starvation. plastic where they shouldn’t be?
damaged floats or lures and
Our livelihoods depend on a healthy used glow sticks in closed
This rubbish can even damage your containers and stow all your
vessel. Larger items can damage marine environment and safe working
gear when you are not using it.
hulls and propellers—even the conditions and the good news is there
smallest cut-off of rope can ruin a are simple things we can and should Check your lines and nets
propeller shaft. do to turn this around. regularly for damage.
Consider using biodegradable
fishing gear to reduce
Report dangers to navigation such as floating logs and ghost nets entanglement of marine life.
by emailing reports@amsa.gov.au
23 Working Boats April 2019Safety
Know what to do in
a hook-up incident
One of the most dangerous situations for
a trawler is when the net is hooked-up. For trawler
operators, knowing what to do can save lives.
Trawlers can easily roll over to a range of emergency and high-risk all running in the same direction when
and trap crew beneath. The situations. This includes emergency a hook-up occurs, your chances of a
circumstances can differ each drills to ensure crew understand their rollover have increased on what they
respective roles, where the equipment would have been if you were travelling
time but when a trawler’s net gets
is stored, how lifejackets are worn and against the wind and tide. The speed
snagged it is usually a mix of sea how each piece of safety equipment is
conditions, trawler stability and with which you respond is critical. If
operated.
crew actions. the hook-up site moves from behind to
Crew have an obligation to know what beside the trawler, depending on the
Every crew member needs to is required of them while on board and sea and tidal conditions, you are in an
understand and practice what actions participate fully in regular emergency extremely dangerous situation.
are the best response on their vessel. response drills. If there is something a
crew member does not understand, it If you realise this early you should
When a trawler hook-up occurs is important they ask for advice or help have enough time to put the trawler in
from the skipper. neutral, buoy the wire, then cut it. Don’t
Have a plan
push the trawler past the point of no
It’s important to prepare the Trawler stability
return.
wheelhouse and forecastle so that Be aware that maintaining the trawler
you and other crew can get out if the in an upright position is the most
trawler capsizes. important task during a hook-up. If the
wind, tidal conditions and trawler are
The skipper must be familiar with
the characteristics of the trawler Basic steps you can follow when a trawler hook-up occurs
including stability, freeboard, loading,
maintenance and watertight integrity.
This information should be available Reduce power Move trawl cables to the side of
in the vessel’s stability booklet and All crew on deck and close hatches the vessel
outlined in the maintenance schedule. Alert other vessels in the area Be ready to cut the trawl wires
Lifesaving equipment in float-free Move to high side of the vessel
The skipper is responsible for making
sure crew are properly informed about position
Complete steps 1–4 within 20 seconds
safety issues and trained to respond
Working Boats April 2019 24You can also read
