Nautical Institute Queensland Branch - Seminars and Branch Activities

*Technical presentation - Future Challenges of Cruise Ships in Queensland 24 April 2008*
	Report (pdf, 13kb)

*Annual General Meeting 8 November 2007*
	Minutes of Annual General Meeting (pdf, 20kb)

World Maritime Day 2007
	World Maritime Day, 4 October 2007 (pdf, 29kb)
	Presentations
	- Dr Morton (pdf, 956kb)
	- Llew Russell (pdf, 316kb)
	- Neil Trainor (pdf, 2.6mb)

*Debate*
	Hypothetical Debate - "Collapsed Crane - Where Do You Stand?" (pdf, 22kb)

*Technical Meeeting*
	Technical Meeting report

*Annual General Meeting*
	Annual General Meeting report

World Maritime Day 2006
	World Maritime Day, 5 October 2006

*Past activities / seminars 2005*
	World Maritime Day is usually celebrated during the last week in September. This year the IMO has approved that the theme will be 'International Shipping - Carrier of World Trade' . The theme was chosen to provide an ideal opportunity to draw attention to the vital role that shipping plays in underpinning the national economy and its significant contribution to international trade and the world economy as the most efficient, safe and environmentally friendly method of transporting goods around the globe. Article from Seways - November 2005 edition

	Thursday 28 July, a combined meeting between the Nautical Institute and Company of Master Mariners of Australia was held at the Greek Club Conference Rooms in South Brisbane. The Principal Speaker was Paul Nelson of AMSA who gave a presentation on the 'Compulsory Pilotage in the Torres Strait'. A decision whether or not to approve compulsory pilotage (which is currently only 'recommended') for Torres Strait and Great North East Channel will have recently been made by the IMO, and so the meeting will be highly topical. Jim Huggett from Maritime Safety Queensland was invited to give a short summary on the implications of the IMO decision for Queensland.

	22 March 2005 - the branch co-sponsored a maritime security symposium with the Queensland Branch of the Maritime Law Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Marine and Shipping Law Unit of the University of Queensland. The meeting, which proved to be highly successful, was held at the Riverside Auditorium in Brisbane and attracted some 50 participants drawn from various maritime groups. Key speakers were Dr. Rosalie Balkin, the Australian Head of the IMO Legal Division, Dr. Rachel Bird, UQ Maritime Law Unit and Wayne Taratoa, Security Manager Port of Brisbane Corporation. The Branch Chairman Professor Edgar Gold reported on the Symposium in the May edition of 'Seaways'. The Symposium was entitled 'Sea of Change; the latest IMO initiatives, maritime security and implications for Australia'. The principal speaker was Dr. Rosalie Balkin, Director, Legal Affairs and External Relations for the IMO'. Dr. Balkin provided an excellent outline of the IMO's current activities in the area of maritime security, which is being given the highest priority at this time. She focused on the work currently underway in the IMO legal Committee on the revision of the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Navigation (SUA) and its Protocol. Updating these instruments was considered essential as they would provide the broader international legal framework within the ISPS code. Dr. Balkin noted that the SUA had now been accepted by 115 states and its Offshore Platforms Protocol by 114 states. More than one third of these acceptances had occurred in the period since 11 September 2001. This showed that states were aware ships could not only be used for terrorist activities, but, like aircraft, could be used as the actual instrument to cause maximum damage. The SUA discussion which commenced after the Achille Lauro incident in 1985 has not foreseen the type of terrorism the world is facing today. As a result, SUA is unable to deal with today's problems. Dr. Balkin explained that the present discussion on the SUA revision is taking the IMO into new territory as a number of aspects of the revision have become highly political. For an organisation that has traditionally focused on the technical aspects of 'safer ships and cleaner seas', this is definitely a new direction. Several areas under revision are quite controversial, for example the right of naval forces to board and inspect vessels on the high seas is considered by a number of states to be a departure from the traditional freedom of the sea. There are also a number of 'transport offences' included in the SUA revision that relate to the carriage of dangerous substances that could be used for terrorist activities. Some substances that are usually benign when used normally, but which could be used to create dangerous materials, will be banned from carriage at sea. The revision also includes a number of safeguards, such as the requirement of flag state consent prior to boarding by foreign naval forces as well as the protection of the rights of seafarers. According to Dr. Balkin, quite a lot of negotiations will yet have to take place before the revisions are tabled at an IMO Diplomatic Conference in October 2005.