| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1 October 2002 |
| Jurisdiction | Queensland |
| Headquarters | 41 George Street, Brisbane |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Parent department | Department of Transport and Main Roads |
| Website | www |
Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) is a Queensland government agency of the Department of Transport and Main Roads. The agency is responsible for the safety of all water vessels in Queensland waterways. It deals with marine pollution and provides pilotage for Queensland ports. The agency also maintains boating infrastructure including harbours and channels.
Maritime Safety Queensland was established on 1 October 2002 under the Maritime Safety Queensland Act 2002. [1] The agency's main offices are located at Mineral House in George Street, Brisbane. MSQ has a number of pilotage office located across the state. It publishes tide and other charts, cyclone contingency plans and beacon directories.
MSQ investigated the collision of Jessica Watson's boat with Chinese bulk carrier, the Silver Yang, at the start of her round the world trip. The agency found that Ms Watson had not acted responsibly or planned adequately. [2]
Maritime Safety Queensland has had to respond to a number of oil spills. These include the 2010 Great Barrier Reef oil spill and the 2009 southeast Queensland oil spill. In 2006, response teams from MSQ coordinated cleanup efforts after the Global Peace leaked oil from damaged fuel tanks into Gladstone Harbour. [3]
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue without law enforcement authority. In most countries, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from those of the navy and the transit police, while in certain countries they have similarities to both.
Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are used by commercial operators who provide seafood to market.
Responsibilities for traditional coast guard duties in Australia are distributed across various federal, state and community agencies. The de facto coast guard of Australia is the Maritime Border Command, a joint command of the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Border Force which works alongside the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Each state and territory government have specific maritime safety agencies and police marine units. In addition, there are several private volunteer coast guard organisations which act as auxiliary search and rescue services and maritime safety educators with the largest organisations being the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol established in 1937, the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard established in 1961, and Marine Rescue New South Wales established in 2009.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations. The authority has jurisdiction over Australia's exclusive economic zone which covers an area of 11,000,000 square kilometres (4,200,000 sq mi). AMSA maintains Australia's shipping registries: the general and the international shipping registers.
North West Island is a coral cay in the southern Great Barrier Reef, located 75 kilometres northeast of Gladstone, Queensland. North West Island forms part of Capricornia Cays National Park and with an area of 1.05 km2, the island is the second largest coral cay in the Great Barrier Reef. It is part of the Capricornia Cays Important Bird Area.
A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who has specific knowledge of an often dangerous or congested waterway, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots know local details such as depth, currents, and hazards. They board and temporarily join the crew to safely guide the ship's passage, so they must also have expertise in handling ships of all types and sizes. Obtaining the title "maritime pilot" requires being licensed or authorised by a recognised pilotage authority.
The Swedish Coast Guard is a Swedish civilian government agency tasked with:
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef systems, stretching along the East coast of Australia from the northern tip down at Cape York to the town of Bundaberg, is composed of roughly 2,900 individual reefs and 940 islands and cays that stretch for 2,300 kilometres (1,616 mi) and cover an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi). The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia. A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Norwegian Coastal Administration is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the water transport infrastructure along the 9,200 km Coast of Norway. It is responsible for coastal navigation infrastructure, pilotage and harbour and port infrastructure, including lighthouses. The agency is led by the Coastal Directorate (Kystdirektoratet) and is subordinate to the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs. The main office is in Ålesund.
HMAS Gladstone, named for the city of Gladstone, Queensland, is a Fremantle-class patrol boat, formerly of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built by NQEA during the early 1980s, Gladstone was commissioned into RAN service in 1984.
The 2009 southeast Queensland oil spill occurred off the coast of southeast Queensland, Australia on 11 March 2009, when 230 tonnes of fuel oil, 30 tonnes of other fuel and 31 shipping containers containing 620 tonnes of ammonium nitrate spilled into the Coral Sea, north of Moreton Bay during Cyclone Hamish. It happened after unsecured cargo on MV Pacific Adventurer damaged other cargo, causing the spillage. Over the following days, the spill washed ashore along 60 kilometres (37 mi) of coastline encompassing the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay, Bribie Island and Moreton Island.
The Montara oil spill was an oil and gas leak and subsequent slick that took place in the Montara oil field in the Timor Sea, off the northern coast of Western Australia. It is considered one of Australia's worst oil disasters. The slick was released following a blowout from the Montara wellhead platform on 21 August 2009, and continued leaking until 3 November 2009, when the leak was stopped by pumping mud into the well and the wellbore cemented thus "capping" the blowout. The West Atlas rig is owned by the Norwegian-Bermudan Seadrill, and operated by PTTEP Australasia (PTTEPAA), a subsidiary of PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) which is in turn a subsidiary of PTT, the Thai state-owned oil and gas company was operating over on adjacent well on the Montara platform. Houston-based Halliburton was involved in cementing the well. The Montara field is located off the Kimberley coast, 250 km (160 mi) north of Truscott airbase, and 690 km (430 mi) west of Darwin. Sixty-nine workers were safely evacuated from the West Atlas jackup drilling rig when the blowout occurred.
Jessica Watson is an Australian sailor who was awarded the Order of Australia Medal after attempting a solo circumnavigation at the age of 16. Although her voyage did not meet the distance criterion of 21,600 nautical miles (40,000 km) for a circumnavigation, Watson was nevertheless named the 2011 Young Australian of the Year and awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2012 for "...service to sailing and to youth through the achievement of sailing solo and unassisted around the world [sic], and as a role model for young Australians". She currently resides in Melbourne.
The 2010 Great Barrier Reef oil spill occurred on 3 April 2010, when the Chinese bulk coal carrier, MV Shen Neng 1 ran aground east of Rockhampton in Central Queensland, Australia. The vessel is owned by Shenzhen Energy Transport Co. Ltd.
Jia Yong, formerly MV Shen Neng 1 is a Chinese bulk carrier built in 1993 as Bestore. She was sold in 2007 and renamed Shen Neng 1. In 2010, she ran aground off Great Keppel Island in Queensland, Australia, spilling oil into Great Barrier Reef waters.
Sea Hill Lighthouse, also known as Sea Hill Point Light or Little Sea Hill Light, is a lighthouse on the northwest point of Curtis Island, Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. Its purpose was to mark the east side of the entrance to Keppel Bay, on passage to Fitzroy River and Port Alma. The first lighthouse at the locations was constructed in 1873 or 1876, moved in the 1920s, and is now on display at the Gladstone Maritime Museum. A second lighthouse was constructed in 1895 and its state is unclear.
Low Isles Light, also known as Low Islets Light or Low Island Light, is an active lighthouse located on Low Island, a coral cay which together with Woody Island forms the Low Isles group, about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) northeast of Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia. The island is situated on the western edge of the main shipping channel into the harbour of Port Douglas, and it marks the entrance to the channel. Built in 1878, it was the first lighthouse in Far North Queensland and more specifically the first to light the Inner Passage of the Great Barrier Reef. Its construction is typical to Queensland lighthouses of the time, timber frame clad with galvanized iron, and it is the fourth lighthouse of this type constructed in Queensland, though it is the first of them to use portholes.
Port Curtis Sailing Club Clubhouse is a heritage-listed club house at 1 Goondoon Street, Gladstone Central, Gladstone, Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Philip Hanman and built from 1949 to 1959. It is also known as Gladstone Yacht Club. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 26 June 2009.
