The reporter has raised a safety concern regarding the lightship verification for Class 1 (passenger) vessels less than 12 metres long, or Class 2 (non-passenger), 3 (fishing) or 4 (hirer/recreational) vessels.
The reporter states that s4.9(6) of the Marine Surveyors Accreditation Guidance Manual permits owners or masters of Class 1 vessels less than 12 m long and Class 2, Class 3 and Class 4 vessels to sign and submit an AMSA 752 self-declaration form in respect to periodic lightship verification, in place of an accredited marine surveyor performing a lightship survey and incline test.
The reporter believes that this process poses a safety concern due to the following reasons.
Many owners and masters would not have the skill-base, experience or adequate knowledge of the vessel’s history to properly measure and verify their vessel’s lightship stability. The required compliance parameters of 4% displacement and 2% longitudinal centre of gravity (LCG) are small amounts for a vessel and are near unnoticeable to those not trained to detect it. Even with the aid of comprehensive stability data, which is often unavailable on many domestic commercial vessels, it is difficult to validate the 4% and 2% limits without accurate knowledge of the stores and equipment that were onboard at the original lightship and incline test. Even experienced naval architects are hard pressed to measure and meet the 4% and 2% limit unless they have available stability books, which are detailed with calculations for displacement and trim.
In the absence of accredited surveyors to oversee lightship surveys, the self-declaration arrangements raise a potential conflict of interest whereby vessel owners may be discouraged from declaring significant structural modifications and lightship variations in order to avoid subsequent expenses, including those associated with their vessel’s redesignation as a ‘transitional vessel’ under Marine Order 503 should the variation limits be exceeded. Not signing the declaration would result in the owners having to engage a professional surveyor to assess the vessel and provide evidence of compliance, which would also result in significant costs. As a result, the self-declaration arrangements may lead to unsafe practices in respect to stability compliance.
The lightship verification self-declaration arrangements are inconsistent with the AMSA’s reasoning for rejecting a co-regulatory approach proposal for minimum survey requirements, as documented in the 2017 Decision Regulation Impact Statement for Survey under the National System for Domestic Commercial Vessel Safety, which did not specifically address the subject of lightship verification.
Acknowledging that the AMSA have indicated a risk-based approach following industry feedback was undertaken to determine that the classes of vessels covered under the self-declaration provisions are lower risk, the reporter queries what risk controls are in place to ensure the stability of these vessels, given the critical importance of stability compliance for safe operation. Such importance was illustrated in the Western Australian Coroner’s recommendations to the AMSA following the loss of the FV Returner in July 2015, reiterating the importance to independently verifying key information when assessing stability safety.
AMSA has previously received and responded to a similar safety concern. In doing so AMSA remains confident that the current policy settings are appropriate and have delivered significant safety benefits since the commencement of our service delivery in 2018.
Some vessels, however, remain under grandfathering arrangements put in place at the commencement of the National Law. AMSA has commenced reviewing grandfathering arrangements, including stability standards and stability documentation, and is committed to applying a risk-based approach to regulation and incrementally improving safety standards across the existing vessel fleet.
The Government has commissioned an Independent Review of Domestic Commercial Vessel Safety Legislation and Costs and Charging Arrangements. The review’s terms of reference include consideration of whether changes to grandfathered arrangements (as recommended in past inquiries) or to exemptions may give rise to cost challenges or safety opportunities.
Further information is available at: https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/maritime/independent-review-domestic-commercial-vessel-safety-legislation-and-costs-and-charging-arrangements