Work Boat World Editorial – June 2013

I was delighted, during the week before this was written, to be able to participate in the Sustainable Ocean Summit in Washington DC.

Organised by the World Ocean Council (www.oceancouncil.org), of which I am a director, the Summit brought together more than 200 members of the ocean business community and other ocean stakeholders.

A lively but very co-operative and congenial event, the SOS provided a forum for a wide range of views to be discussed in a positive manner.

Apart from a large number of marine NGOs and government representatives, the Summit attracted participants from major global organisations such as Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, Total, Golder Associates, Battelle, Blank Rome Maritime, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Rio Tinto, Maersk Line, Royal Greenland, NOAA, Lloyd’s Register, Kongsberg, International Chamber of Shipping, Holman Fenwick Willan, United Nations, TCC Steamship, IHCMerwede, Maersk Drilling, Royal Caribbean Cruises, DP World and many smaller companies and organisations such as our own.

Ausmarine Editorial - May 2013

Last month I was unusually positive having received two very sensible press releases from the Victorian and New South Wales governments. This month also was starting to look good as I received two more releases describing sensible government decisions.

Of course, it couldn’t last but following last month’s good news it was a treat to learn of two more government bodies that are acting sensibly.

The first was a press release from the CSIRO. It describes a “Collaborative Research Science Program to improve understanding of the environmental, economic and social value of the Great Australian Bight…”

Apparently this $20 million program is being undertaken in conjuction with BP Developments Australia and Marine Innovation Southern Australia. A useful and promising team.

Work Boat World Editorial – May 2013

There has been a lot of controversy recently about the morality of mainly American use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or “drones” in that country’s so called “war on terrorism”.

It all rather depends on your point of view as morals and morality are very much in the eye of the beholder. In my opinion, if you go to war, even against a somewhat nebulous threat like terrorism, you should go to win.

Work Boat World and Ausmarine editorial – April 2013

I enjoyed two very pleasant surprises the day before I wrote this. I’m sure they were co-incidental but they were distributed on the same day (March 12) by the environment ministers of two Australian states: New South Wales and Victoria.

They were pleasant surprises because they described positive, common sense environmental policy initiatives. They were almost the exact antithesis of the kinds of hectoring, authoritarian, “thou shalt not” orders we have become used to receiving from Australian governments both state and federal.

Ausmarine Editorial – March 2013

The prime minister, Julia Gillard, has kindly provided the taxpayers of Australia with a definite date for our next federal election. There are six months to go.

Not a lot of time but enough for all in this industry to let both government and opposition know, loudly and clearly, what we expect of them! If we don’t take this opportunity we’ll only have ourselves to blame if we have to suffer another three year term during which nobody in Canberra listens to us.

The maritime industry generally has been pathetically weak, over the years, in respect of lobbying for its own best interests. Remarkably and regrettably the most effective performer from the maritime sector has been the Maritime Union of Australia.

The important and productive parts of our industry barely appear on Canberra’s radar. While fishing and aquaculture, notably, are practically hopeless at lobbying and PR, most other sectors are not much better.