Action Plan for Outcome 1-3: Enhanced environmental performance To support review of relevancy of current environmental controls for anchorages it is appropriate to audit adherence of vessels to the controls they are required to abide by. This should be achieved in conjunction with measuring environmental conditions (Outcome 1-2) to enable differentiation between natural and anthropogenic drivers of change which may be observed during monitoring of anchorage sites. To achieve Outcome 1-3 it is recommended that the GBRMPA: Develop and implement environmental inspection and audit programs for ships at anchor in the Marine Park in collaboration with ports, the shipping industry, AMSA, AQIS and MSQ. Provide reports of audit findings to industry and management bodies to support initiatives that aim at reducing air emissions from shipping, such as switching to low emission fuels used while at anchor. Determine the impact of anchorage areas on aesthetic values by considering how different stakeholder groups value a vista which does and does not include ships at anchor. Inspection program for ships at anchor to monitor environmental performance Review and consultation completed under this project did not identify any dedicated audit program which is targeted at taking record of the different impacts associated with vessels anchoring in the World Heritage Area across criteria including emissions to air, management of hazardous substances and waste releases at each of the five ports. Vessels are required to adhere to legislative requirements and only through reporting are incidents recorded and investigated. It is recommended that the GBRMPA review current ship inspection programs to consider whether they adequately validate and demonstrate vessels adherence to legislative environmental management requirements. If current inspection programs do not address all relevant management requirements, the GBRMPA should consider what additional information is needed and whether existing inspection programs are able to be adapted to collate that information or whether additional programs are required. Existing inspection activities may only target quarantine matters and may not facilitate collection of data of relevance to anchorages and management of the environmental values of those locations. If current inspections are found to lack in their ability to detect whether vessels adhere to required environmental management requirements while at anchor with regard to wastes, emissions and hazardous substances the GBRMPA should consider mechanisms to address this gap in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. It is anticipated these stakeholders would include AMSA, AQIS, MSQ, and other parties involved in vessel entry control and management. The action plan for an inspection program should include: A desktop review of current inspection programs conducted at the Port of Gladstone
Action Plan for Outcome 1-3: Enhanced environmental performance To support review of relevancy of current environmental controls for anchorages it is appropriate to audit adherence of vessels to the controls they are required to abide by. This should be achieved in conjunction with measuring environmental conditions (Outcome 1-2) to enable differentiation between natural and anthropogenic drivers of change which may be observed during monitoring of anchorage sites. To achieve Outcome 1-3 it is recommended that the GBRMPA: Develop and implement environmental inspection and audit programs for ships at anchor in the Marine Park in collaboration with ports, the shipping industry, AMSA, AQIS and MSQ. Provide reports of audit findings to industry and management bodies to support initiatives that aim at reducing air emissions from shipping, such as switching to low emission fuels used while at anchor. Determine the impact of anchorage areas on aesthetic values by considering how different stakeholder groups value a vista which does and does not include ships at anchor. Inspection program for ships at anchor to monitor environmental performance Review and consultation completed under this project did not identify any dedicated audit program which is targeted at taking record of the different impacts associated with vessels anchoring in the World Heritage Area across criteria including emissions to air, management of hazardous substances and waste releases at each of the five ports. Vessels are required to adhere to legislative requirements and only through reporting are incidents recorded and investigated. It is recommended that the GBRMPA review current ship inspection programs to consider whether they adequately validate and demonstrate vessels adherence to legislative environmental management requirements. If current inspection programs do not address all relevant management requirements, the GBRMPA should consider what additional information is needed and whether existing inspection programs are able to be adapted to collate that information or whether additional programs are required. Existing inspection activities may only target quarantine matters and may not facilitate collection of data of relevance to anchorages and management of the environmental values of those locations. If current inspections are found to lack in their ability to detect whether vessels adhere to required environmental management requirements while at anchor with regard to wastes, emissions and hazardous substances the GBRMPA should consider mechanisms to address this gap in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. It is anticipated these stakeholders would include AMSA, AQIS, MSQ, and other parties involved in vessel entry control and management. The action plan for an inspection program should include: A desktop review of current inspection programs conducted at the Port of Gladstone
gbr-anchorage-management.docx