Sydney: The boxship ANL Kardinia has been fined A$4,000 ($3,000) for dumping food waste in February onto the Great Barrier Reef. The ship’s master was fined an additional A$300.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority CEO Mick Kinley told shipowners to be vigilant when transiting Australian waters.
“These prosecutions are a reminder to the shipping community if they flout the regulations they can be caught and prosecuted,” he said in a statement.
The Hong Kong-flagged ship is owned by Marlow Navigation from Cyprus and managed by Hong Kong’s Univan Ship Management.
Univan’s ceo, Bjorn Hojgaard, told Splash that the incident was due to an oversight and was not a result of a deliberate non-compliance with MARPOL regulations.
According to MARPOL Annex V, food waste should be disposed of at least 12 nautical miles from the nearest land.
The nearest land in this case should have been measured from the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef.
“The duty officer who authorised the food waste disposal was focused on monitoring the vessel’s position and inadvertently measured the distance from the nearest land and not from the edge of the Great Barrier Reef,” Hojgaard explained.
$AUD5,000. That will surely show them. It will probably hurt their balance sheet for a nanosecond or two. Maybe the Abbott government is concerned though, and will give them a cargo of coal at top dollar to be sure the miscreants do not mistake Australia for having a government that really gives a rat’s about environmental issues.