Operations

Australian authorities take action against unstable livestock carrier

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has withdrawn the Australian Certificate for the Carriage of Livestock (ACCL) for the livestock carrier, Jawan, after the ship suffered high profile stability issues while carrying thousands of animals. The ship has been unable to leave Australia for weeks after it was forced to return to port after it started rolling severely.

“Where a master fails to properly determine a vessel’s stability, or the approved information the master uses is unreliable, there is a significant risk. It is a fundamental requirement for vessel owners and masters to have stability information to rely on,” AMSA said in a statement.

“It is extremely concerning that the operators are unable determine the vessel’s stability in a loaded condition since its recent drydocking and the operator and classification society seem unable to provide a plausible explanation for this situation. It’s a very basic requirement,” AMSA’s CEO Mick Kinley said.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.

Comments

  1. This event (events, three failed, unstable, attempts at sailing out of port) makes me wonder. Have two wrongs finally made a right? Have the exporters been fiddling with numbers and weights for a long time, as many, including myself, suspect, and got away with this based on the stability of the vessel? Here we have a situation where the initial loaded weights have been found to be wildly incorrect and blamed for the instability of the vessel, only to have weights forensically examined, ship unloaded and partly reloaded only to ascertain that in fact there was a problem with both the load, and the vessel. How many voyages are dubiously declared, putting lives at risk and get away with it by the quality of a ship or its crew? How many disasters have been on the brink through greed? Its a blight on shipping, and an absolute disgrace with live exports.

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