Safeguarding our Great Barrier Reef
Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef will have unprecedented protection from shipping incidents with the extension of a multi-million dollar Queensland and Federal government electronic ship tracking system.
Maritime Safety Queensland General Manger Patrick Quirk said the system would keep a watch over each vessel by radio and satellite to assist in preventing accidents and help safeguard one of Australia’s most precious environmental assets.
“Since 2004 the Townsville-based system, called reef vessel traffic service (REEFVTS) already kept a close watch on vessels from as far north as the Torres Strait to almost 100 kilometres south of Mackay,” Mr Quirk said.
“From today this protection will extend further south below Bundaberg to cover the full length of the Great Barrier Reef.”
“Previously this southern area was not considered to be a navigation challenge to shipping but the grounding of the bulk coal carrier Shen Neng 1 off Gladstone in April 2010 clearly showed us this was not always the case.”
The incident was investigated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) which released a report called Improving Safe Navigation in the Great Barrier Reef.
“Maritime Safety Queensland and AMSA immediately commenced working together on the roll-out of the necessary sensors, communication equipment and navigational software,” Mr Quirk said.
“With many economically vital mineral and gas export projects being developed adjacent to this sensitive marine environment the completion of this project demonstrates our commitment to the continuing development of a safe global maritime industry.”
Find out more information about REEFVTS.
