Australian Maritime Safety Authority
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Statutory authority overview | |
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Formed | 1990 |
Jurisdiction | Australian exclusive economic zone [1] |
Headquarters | Canberra, ACT |
Website | www |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Surveillance_Australia_%28VH-XNC%29_Bombardier_CL-600-2B16_Challenger_604%2C_operated_for_Australian_Maritime_Safety_Authority_%28AMSA%29%2C_at_Wagga_Wagga_Airport.jpg/220px-Surveillance_Australia_%28VH-XNC%29_Bombardier_CL-600-2B16_Challenger_604%2C_operated_for_Australian_Maritime_Safety_Authority_%28AMSA%29%2C_at_Wagga_Wagga_Airport.jpg)
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian
AMSA was established in 1990 under the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990[6][7] and governed by the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997. AMSA is an agency within the Department of Infrastructure and Transport.[2] Directors are appointed by the minister.[7] The international treaties which AMSA administers include the Navigation Act 2012 and the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983.[3]
Organised sea rescue in Australia was well established during the Second World War.[8] Precursor international arrangements also included usage of a range of warning and communication systems.[9]
AMSA is funded largely through levies on the
Functions
Marine safety activities of AMSA include:
- the provision, operation and maintenance of a network of marine aids to navigation, for example, lighthouses
- ensuring the seaworthiness and safe operation of Australian and foreign vessels in Australian waters, including the enforcement of compulsory pilotage[3]
- administering the certification of seafarers
- the provision of a maritime distress and safety communications network
- the operation of Australia's Rescue Coordination Centre and coordination of search and rescue (SAR) operations for civilian aircraft and vessels in distress[11]and
- the development of a maritime safety commercial vessel legislative framework and operating system.
AMSA aims to protect the marine environment by administering programs to prevent and respond to the threat of
It is responsible for administering MARPOL 73/78,[7] an international marine environmental convention designed to minimize pollution of the seas. AMSA can instigate prosecutions itself, but mainly works with states and territories during investigations and enforcement activities such as vessel inspections.[7] A recent major AMSA project involved the rewrite of the Navigation Act 1912, the agency's governing statute.
Shipping registers
AMSA maintains two
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2011 directed AMSA to work co-operatively with the states and territories to create a national system for domestic commercial vessels,[14] including any changes to Commonwealth, state and territory laws and administrative arrangements of the parties that are necessary to facilitate the reform. The new legislation[15] came into effect in 2013, and the transition to the new system was completed in July 2018.[16]
Emergency towage vessel capability
General characteristics | |
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Type | Emergency towage vessel |
Tonnage | |
Length | 60.5 m (198 ft) |
Draught | 5.0 m (16.4 ft) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 13.8 kn (25.6 km/h; 15.9 mph) |
Capacity |
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Towing equipment |
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Coral Knight is an anchor handling tug supply vessel modified to fulfil the role of dedicated emergency towage vessel (ETV). It is the only ETV of its type in Australia and operates in the particularly sensitive sea areas of the northern Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait.
Coral Knight is also equipped to respond to other maritime incidents such as search and rescue or limiting the effects of ship-sourced pollution of the sea and carries oil pollution response equipment.[17]
Publications
The Authority publishes a range of materials in relation to maritime safety.[18]As of 2011[update] its maritime survival manual Survival at Sea: A Training and Instruction Manual is in its 6th edition.[19]
See also
- Australian aerial patrol
- Coast Guards of Australia
Notes
- ^ "AMSA Seafarer Certifications - Australian Maritime Safety Authority". www.edumaritime.net.
- ^ a b "Australian Maritime Safety Authority". Department of Infrastructure and Transport. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^ ISBN 0080428142. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^ a b AMSA, Register a vessel
- ^ a b AMSA, Australian international shipping register
- ISBN 978-0-642-70990-5
- ^ ISBN 978-1862875524. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^ "R.A.A.F. CRASH BOATS". The Age. No. 27499. Victoria, Australia. 9 June 1943. p. 3. Retrieved 2 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Australia in air, sea rescue system". The Canberra Times. Vol. 64, no. 17, 222. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 October 1989. p. 5. Retrieved 2 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Annual Report 2010-11". Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^ "History: Australian Search and Rescue (AusSAR)". www.amsa.gov.au. Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
A national centre was established by the Federal Government in 1997 for coordination of Australia's civil search and rescue (SAR) activities. ... Australian Maritime Safety Authority has merged the former aviation SAR responsibilities of Air Services Australia with its own maritime SAR responsibilities
- ^ How flag State administration works in Australia
- ^ The Navigation Act and National Law – Documents issued by recognised classification societies
- ^ Intergovernmental Agreement on Commercial Vessel Safety Reform%
- ^ Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Act 2012
- ^ Vessels & operators
- ^ "Emergency towage vessel Coral Knight". www.amsa.gov.au. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "Publications". Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-9806416-3-9.