Explanatory Statement
Marine Order 2 (Australian International Shipping Register) Amendment 2014 (No.1) (Order 2014/16)
Authority
- This Order amends Marine Order 2 (Australian International Shipping Register) 2013 (MO2) which modifies some Marine Orders as they apply to ships registered on the Australian International Shipping Register (AISR).
- This Order is made is made under the following provisions of the Navigation Act 2012 (the Navigation Act):
- Subsection 339(1) which authorises the Governor-General to make regulations necessary or convenient for carrying out or giving effect to the Navigation Act;
- Subsection 342(1) which allows the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) to make orders for any matter in the Act for or in relation to which provision may be made by regulations;
- Subsection 342(4) which allows a Marine Order to provide for a matter by applying, adopting or incorporating, with or without modification, any matter contained in an instrument or other document as in force or existing at a particular time.
3. This amending Order is also made under subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 which provides that a power in an Act to make a legislative instrument includes the power to repeal or amend the instrument, subject to any conditions that apply to the initial power.
4. MO2 was made under the power in subsection 343(2) of the Navigation Act to provide for specified orders that were in force under the Navigation Act 1912 immediately before its repeal to have effect, for the Navigation Act, with such modifications as are specified in the Marine Orders.
5. This Order is a legislative instrument for the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Purpose
6. This Order updates MO2 to address the repeal and replacement of Marine Order 3 (Seagoing qualifications) 2004 (MO3) and Marine Order 15 (Construction — fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction) 2009 that were modified by MO2. MO2 modifies some Marine Orders as they apply to ships registered on the AISR (International Register vessels), seafarers working or proposing to work on those ships and the owners of those ships.
7. This Order amends MO2 so that it modifies Marine Order 70 (Seafarer certification) 2014 (MO70) instead of MO3. MO70 is one of the four Marine Orders made by AMSA this year that replaced MO3. Modifications to seafarer certification arrangements are still required for seafarers who work on International Register vessels.
Overview
8. This Order amends MO2. MO2 provides for qualifications for seafarers who work on International Register vessels, and for changes to a small number of construction, equipment and operational requirements for International Register vessels.
9. This Order is essentially administrative in nature. It amends MO2 to make the modifications necessary for AISR ships and seafarers to MO70 instead of MO3.
This is required because MO3 was repealed and replaced by the MO70 series of Marine Orders. The modifications made to MO70, like the modifications previously made by MO2 to MO3, provide for the streamlined recognition by AMSA of foreign qualifications of seafarers working on International Register vessels.
10. This Order also removes the Division of MO2 that modified Marine Order 15 (Construction — fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction) 2009. However, it does not replace it with modifications to Marine Order 15 (Construction — fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction) 2014 because the changes made to the new issue of MO15 mean that it no longer needs to be modified for AISR.
11. The Order also corrects a minor drafting error in the modifications made by MO2 to Marine Order 11 (Living and working conditions on vessels) 2013 (MO11).
12. As at the date the Order was made, there are no International Register vessels as no ships have registered on the AISR. However, MO2 is required in case this occurs.
Consultation
13. A copy of the draft of this Order was placed on the AMSA website for public comment. The public comment period was four weeks. Over 150 stakeholders, including recognised organisations, shipping and cargo industry bodies, maritime unions and interested government agencies were also emailed the draft and invited to comment. Three responses were received, two to the effect of no comment. The third was taken into account when preparing the final draft.
14. The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) was also consulted and considered that the Order dealt with matters of a minor or machinery nature and no regulatory impact statement was required. The OBPR reference number is 13286.
Documents incorporated by reference
15. A 2011 edition of the STCW Convention and the STCW Code can be purchased from the International Maritime Organization.
Commencement
16. This Order commenced on the day after it was registered.
Contents of this instrument
17. Section 1 sets out the name of the Order.
18. Section 2 provides for the commencement of the Order.
19. Section 3 provides that MO2 is amended in accordance with Schedule 1.
20. Item [1] of Schedule 1 omits Division 1 of Schedule 1 of MO2. That Division set out the modifications to be made to Marine Order 3 (Seagoing qualifications) 2004. As that Order has been repealed this Division has no effect.
21. Item [2] of Schedule 1 makes a minor technical amendment to the modification made to MO11 by Division 2, item 17 of MO2 to correct a cross-reference to a subsection.
22. Item [3] of Schedule 1 omits Division 4 of Schedule 1 of MO2. That Division set out the modifications to be made to Marine Order 15 (Construction — Fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction) 2009. As that Order has been repealed this Division has no effect.
23. Item [4] inserts new Division 8 into MO2. New Division 8 modifies MO70 to provide for qualifications for persons performing or intending to perform duties or functions as seafarers on International Register vessels. The modifications are based upon those made to MO3 by previous Division 4 of Schedule 1 of MO2.
24. New Division 8 of MO2 provides for the issue by AMSA of certificates of equivalence and interim certificates of equivalence to these seafarers by setting out the term of these certificates, the eligibility criteria for their issue and some conditions to which they are subject.
25. It will be a condition of these certificates that seafarers serving on AISR ships must undergo the first aid training and training in medical care that is required for their duties. Also, persons performing cargo duties or performing and monitoring cargo operations on these ships must have the appropriate training. The requirements for this training are set out in the STCW Code. The MO70 series of Marine Orders also provides for seafarers to undergo this training if it is necessary for the performance of their duties.
Statement of compatibility with human rights
26. This statement is made for subsection 9(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the legislative instrument
27. This Order is made under the Navigation Act 2012. It is administrative in nature and amends Marine Order 2 (Australian International Shipping Register) 2013 (MO2) because two of the Marine Orders that were modified by MO2 have been repealed.
28. MO2 modifies some Marine Orders as they apply to ships registered on the Australian International Shipping Register (AISR) and the seafarers working or proposing to work on those vessels. The modifications made by MO2 are needed to implement the crewing arrangements provided for in the Shipping Registration Act 1981 for seafarers on International Register vessels and to apply international standards for construction, equipment and operational requirements to those vessels in place of localised Australian standards.
29. Because MO2 modified two Marine Orders for the AISR that have since been repealed (Marine Order 3 (Seagoing qualifications) 2009 and Marine Order 15 (Construction — fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction) 2009) MO2 requires amendment to remove references to these Marine Orders and make any changes necessary for AISR to the Marine Orders that have replaced them.
30. This Order amends MO2 so that it modifies Marine Order 70 (Seafarer qualifications) 2014 instead of MO3 to provide for the recognition by AMSA of foreign qualifications of seafarers working on International Register vessels. These modifications are based on those that were previously made to MO3 by MO2.
31. Modifications to the requirements for the construction for fire protection, fire detection or fire extinction are no longer needed for International Register vessels because of the changes made to new Marine Order 15 (Construction — fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction) 2014. That replacement Marine Order has therefore not been modified.
32. The Order also makes a minor technical amendment to the modification of Marine Order 11 (Living and working conditions on vessels) 2013 to correct a reference to a subsection.
Human rights implications
33. Human rights issues for Marine Order 70 (Seagoing qualifications) 2014 were addressed when that Order was made. Any limitations placed by the modifications this Order makes to MO70 on the promotion and advancement of seafarers on AISR ships until they have obtained certain qualifications are necessary to ensure the safety of vessels and persons on board by ensuring that only appropriately qualified seafarers work on vessels.
Conclusion
34. This instrument is compatible with human rights because to the extent that it may limit human rights, those limitations are reasonable, necessary and proportionate.
Making the instrument
35. This instrument has been made by the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, in accordance with subsection 49(4) of the Australian Maritime Authority Act 1990.