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Maritime Assistance Services procedures
Date issue released
Issue number
MO-2022-006-SI-02
Issue Status
Open – Safety action pending
Transport Function
Shore operations
Issue Owner
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Mode of Transport
Marine
Safety Issue Description

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Maritime Assistance Services procedures to support the National Plan for Maritime Environmental Emergencies (National Plan) were not effectively implemented. Consequently, there was a 12-hour delay in tasking the state’s nominated emergency towage vessel, Svitzer Glenrock, which significantly prolonged the emergency.

Issue Status Justification

To be advised

Proactive action
Action number
MO-2022-006-PSA-02
Organisation
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Action Status
Monitor
Action description

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) advised the ATSB that it did not agree that the Maritime Assistance Services (MAS) procedures were ‘inadequately implemented’.

However, AMSA advised that since the Portland Bay incident it had undertaken a range of work relevant to the management of the MAS procedures, including implementation of the outcomes of its evaluation report into the incident, which has included:

  • Conducted annual reviews of the MAS procedures as required in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
  • Evaluations of MAS incidents following the Portland Bay incident, including:
    • establishing a ‘lessons board’ and ‘actions allocation working group’, which respectively oversee its lessons management process and ensure identified lessons are addressed,
    • prompt and regular assessment of significant MAS incidents by an external service provider or AMSA lessons management staff (with 9 formal lessons reports containing 135 lessons and findings finalised to date),
    • collection and analysis of incident responder observations for minor incidents, where full evaluation processes are not conducted,
    • reviewing its lessons management doctrine for the lessons management program.
  • Since mid-2024, conducted fortnightly tabletop ‘triage and escalation’ exercises to simulate events involving search and rescue, MAS and pollution with frontline staff participating to practice decision-making and incident management to build knowledge, expertise and capacity with exercise evaluations identifying lessons. The inclusion of external agencies and organisations in the exercises was being considered.
  • In 2024, conducted a review of the national emergency towage capability (ETC) with future ETC specifications finalised that are a significant increase on existing ones. The final contracted ETC, AMSA noted, would depend on availability in the Australian market.
ATSB Response

The ATSB notes with concern that AMSA does not agree with the finding that its MAS procedures had not been effectively implemented. However, the ATSB welcomes the safety action that AMSA has taken, which could adequately address the safety issue when implemented in conjunction with action to address the 3 other safety issues addressed to AMSA. Therefore, the ATSB has issued the following safety recommendation to AMSA.

Safety recommendation
Action number
MO-2022-006-SR-01
Organisation
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Action Status
Released
Action description

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau recommends that the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) takes further safety action to address this safety issue in conjunction with action to address the other safety issues addressed to AMSA in this report.