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Coasts and Oceans
Number 54
Australian Centre for Maritime Studies, December 1997
The Australian Maritime Digest is published monthly by the Australian Centre for Maritime Studies on behalf of the Kindred Maritime Organisations for the benefit of the Australian maritime community.
Increased coastal patrols in northern Australia are included in the $87.5 million campaign against drugs, announced by the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, last month.
The package also includes additional policing, education, research and treatment of drug users.
The Minister for Customs, Mr Warren Truss, said that a total of $6.7 million would be allocated over the next three years to upgrade surveillance and response capabilities in Torres Strait enabling Customs to respond to attempts to bring illicit drugs into Australia via that route.
The new measures in Torres Strait will include:
The first major rethink of Australia's Antarctic Program since the end of the Cold War has recommended sweeping changes. The report to the Federal Government entitled Australia's Antarctic Program Beyond 2000 has made recommendations which include:
In calling for public comment, Senator Ian Macdonald, Parliamentary Secretary responsible for the Antarctic, said that he welcomed the broad thrust of the report which highlighted the need to reduce infrastructure costs, diverting savings into scientific research.
The Government, also welcomed the recognition of Hobart as Australia's Antarctic capital and the emphasis placed upon the protection of the Antarctic's unique environment.
Senator Macdonald commended the Chair of ASAC, Professor Michael Stoddart, and fellow committee members, for breaking new ground in relation to Antarctic policy.
Previous Antarctic policies, largely set during the Cold War, placed considerable emphasis upon our territorial obligations. The latest report clearly identified scientific research, particularly global climate change research, as Australia's most important Antarctic objective.
Public comment was invited until 1 December 1997.
Copies of the report can be accessed through the Internet at www.antdiv.gov.au/foresight. Hard copies may be obtained by contacting Mr Tony Molyneux at the Australian Antarctic Division, phone (03) 6232 3527.
For further information contact Mark Elliot (Senator Macdonald's office), phone (02) 6277 3665 or 0419 238747, or Professor Michael Stoddart (Chair, ASAC), phone (0267) 733896.
Mr Don Lennard retired from the position of executive Director of AMECRC in early November and was replaced by Dr Colin Chipperfield.
Dr Chipperfield, 49, is a Materials Engineer with first and doctorate degrees from Cambridge University. His involvement in the maritime sector started with University research which was sponsored by the UK Ministry of Defence, with particular emphasis on the structural integrity of vessels.
He subsequently worked for the UK Atomic Energy Authority Research Laboratories before emigrating to Australia in 1979 to take up an appointment at BHP Melbourne Research Laboratories.
The following 17 years with BHP were spent in various technical roles at BHP Operational and Research Laboratory sites (mainly in NSW and Melbourne). During this period, Dr Chipperfield had a close involvement in steel development and supply to the offshore petroleum industry (e.g. Bass Strait Platforms and other maritime projects (e.g. LNG ships, Collins Class Submarines). Extended visits to Det Norske Veritas, Lloyds, Kockums, Exxon Research Laboratories and major Japanese shipyards etc. were undertaken during this period.
From 1996 until recently, Dr Chipperfield was Deputy Executive Director of the Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation, from where he joined AMECRC. His extensive involvement in Technical and R&D Management roles in Industry, the Public Service and University brings considerable and relevant experience to AMECRC.
For further information contact Dr Colin G. Chipperfield (Executive Director AMECRC), PO Box 2147, Launceston TAS 7250; phone (03) 6335 4876.
The Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO) and the Wollongong-based Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO) have signed a formal agreement covering the exchange and use of their extensive marine data sets.
These organisations between them hold Australia's most comprehensive collections of hydrographic and geological information.
The agreement was signed last month at the Hydrographic Office by the Australian Hydrographer, Commodore Bob Willis, and AGSO's Deputy Executive Director, Dr Trevor Powell. It will ensure that the best use is made of the data for the benefit of the public and scientific communities.
AGSO was represented by the Organisation's Principal Research Scientist, Mr Howard Stagg.
Seabed mapping data is critical to the management of Australia's marine jurisdiction. The agreement will greatly enhance the capacity of both organisations to carry out public-good work. This is particularly important in light of Australia's obligations under the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention.
AGSO and AHO share a long history of cooperation and exchange of information. This latest arrangement will extend that to cover the very large data sets soon to be available from the Navy's newest hydrographic ships. These ships will be fitted with high technology swath sounding equipment, allowing highly detailed maps and charts of the seafloor to be made.
For further information contact Howard Stagg (AGSO), phone (02) 6249 9343, or Commander Mark Hudson (Director Hydrographic Operations), phone (02) 4221 8500.
The Australian Minister for Defence, Mr Ian McLachlan, met in Adelaide on 13 November with the Indonesian Minister for Defence and Security, General (Retd.) Edi Sudradjat, for annual bilateral talks on security and defence issues.
Australia and Indonesia have established a mature security relationship guided by the Agreement on Maintaining Security signed in November 1995. The relationship reflects the fact that Indonesia is Australia's most significant regional neighbour.
Mr McLachlan said that regular and open dialogue with regional neighbours - and Indonesia in particular - was important to the maintenance of regional stability. Talks with Minister Sudradjat concentrated on recent developments in the Asia-Pacific strategic environment.
Mr McLachlan welcomed the recent publication of the updated Indonesian Defence White Paper - which recognises the importance of Australia-Indonesia defence ties and mutually beneficial co-operative activities.
He foreshadowed the Government's plan to increase training, exercises and other defence co-operation in the region, to be detailed in the forthcoming Strategic Review.
The two Ministers also reviewed the range of co-operative activities which make up the Australia-Indonesia Defence Relationship.
The Defence Ministers agreed that this was an important investment in the long-term future of a close bilateral relationship.
The bilateral Ministerial talks are part of a continuing dialogue with Indonesia at all levels to encourage a common understanding of the strategic environment, and to identify ways in which Australia and Indonesia may work together to promote regional security.
This dialogue will be carried forward in the near future with senior-level officials talks in Jakarta.
For further information contact Jim Bonner (Mr McLachlan's office), phone (08) 8237 7130.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Australia has called on the Australian Government to maintain its hardline position in dealing with the foreign fishing vessels which were apprehended in Australia's Fishing Zone, in waters around Heard and MacDonald Island in the Southern Ocean.
'Australia had shown a commendable commitment to stop illegal fishing in its sub-Antarctic fishing zone, but apprehending and towing [sic] the vessels back to Fremantle is only the first step towards successfully applying punitive measures to these fishers if charges laid were proven,' said Ms Marg Moors, WWF Senior Conservation Officer.
(Two foreign fishing vessels were apprehended recently by the Australian frigate HMAS Anzac and boarding parties were put on board to help bring the ships to Australia for further action.)
Ms Moors said WWF believed that illegal fishing vessels which reflagged in order to evade the provisions of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), had lost the right to invoke any vessel release provisions which were contained in them.
WWF called on the government to take up its option, under its domestic legislation (The Fisheries Management Act), to continue holding these vessels and follow through on its initial action by laying charges. If the charges were upheld the strongest punitive measures should be applied. This was the only way Australia could keep the illegal vessels out of its Fishing Zone.
WWF called on all CCAMLR nations, meeting in Hobart, to put in place the strongest conservation measures against illegal fishing and support Australia's action.
For further information contact Ms Marg Moore (WWF Senior Conservation Officer), phone (03) 9853 7244, or Desiree Sheehan (WWF Communications Manager), phone (02) 9299 6366. Web site: www.panda.org.
The Federal Government has launched a new marketing tool to lure potential cruisers to Australian waters.
The new destination guide to Cruising Australia and the South Pacific aims to whet the appetite of cruise operators and travel agents, providing details on everything from ports and anchorages to suggested itineraries.
Federal Tourism Minister, Mr Andrew Thomson launched the new guide in his opening address to the Second Seatrade Pacific Cruise Shipping Convention held in Cairns last month.
Last year, more than 7.2 million world travellers chose to take a cruising holiday, with the pastime most popular among North Americans, Europeans and Asians. As consumer demand rose, the international cruising industry was seeking new and exciting destinations.
Australia - the world's largest island continent - had an enormous amount to offer, including a remarkable and changing coastline, modern port infrastructure, sophisticated and exciting cities, a wealth of natural attractions, and a very different lifestyle and culture.
The new guide to Cruising Australia and the South Pacific would help promote these attributes in the international marketplace.
'Cruising Down Under' which produced the guide has been operating for four years to market Australia as a cruising destination. Its success can in part be measured by the recent commitment of the major shipping line Holland America to expand their popular 'Explorer Cruises' to Australia and New Zealand.
For further information contact Craig Regan (Minister Thomson's office), phone (02) 6277 7080, or Mike Edwards (Office of National Tourism), phone (02) 6213 7050.
An Intergovernmental Agreement for National Marine Safety was signed at last month's meeting of the Council of Australian Governments.
It has long been recognised that there is a need for uniform marine safety legislation across all jurisdictions. Significant features of current maritime safety administration have been identified as impacting adversely on industry, administrations and the community.
Removing these inconsistent and inefficient regulations and administrative practices will enhance Australia's international competitiveness and national trading performance.
The Intergovernmental Agreement which was endorsed by Australian Transport Council Ministers in May will underpin the reforms and endorse the goals and guiding principles outlined in the draft National Marine Safety Strategy.
The National Marine Safety Committee, which was formed in March 1997, has played a major role in making the intergovernmental agreement a reality.
For further information contact ATC Secretariat, phone (02) 6274 7851, fax (02) 6274 7703, e-mail atc@dot.gov.au.
Australia had been successful in highlighting the need for a strong response to illegal fishing activity in the Southern Ocean at the recent Sixteenth Meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in Hobart but was disappointed that more concrete action could not be agreed.
Australia was pleased that CCAMLR had agreed to a range of response measures to combat illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in the waters surrounding Antarctica. These measures included a prohibition on fishing for toothfish in the three areas for which conservation measures were not in place, the requirement for licensing or permits for all members' vessels operating in the CCAMLR Area, monitoring of fishing operations by independent fisheries observers and tougher port access controls. CCAMLR also agreed to investigate controls to prevent trade in illegally caught fish.
The Australian Government indicated it was pleased that the members had undertaken to implement Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS), but was disappointed that the Commission could not agree to their immediate implementation.
The Australian Government expressed concern that the Commission had held over the issue of whether scientific observers report sightings of illegal vessels. Australia already requires its vessels to use VMS and mandatory observers will continue to report any illegal vessels encountered in the Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ).
Australia welcomed the approval by the Commission of Australia's proposals for exploratory and other fisheries in the Convention area.
Australia's strict environmental standards for the fisheries would continue to exceed the standards required by CCAMLR conservation measures.
Australia was commended by CCAMLR Members for its strong recent naval action to apprehend foreign fishing vessels allegedly operating illegally in the AFZ around Australia's sub-Antarctic Territory of Heard and McDonald Islands. Australia reiterated at the meeting that illegal fishing activity in Australia's sub-Antarctic waters would not be tolerated.
For further information, contact Bill McKinley (Senator Parer's Office), phone (02)6277 7440 or 0419 607487; Mark Elliot (Senator MacDonald's Office), phone (02) 6277 3665; or Rex Moncur (Director, Australian Antarctic Division), phone 0419 399009.
The Federal Government is to introduce new laws to protect black and blue marlin from commercial fishing. Black and blue marlin are prized by game fishers, but are also caught by commercial fishing operators.
A small number of commercial operators had ignored the voluntary ban and new laws will be introduced next year to protect black and blue marlin from commercial fishing.
Commercial fishing operators who caught black and blue marlin would be required to return them to the sea, whether the fish were dead or alive. The ban would apply to both the domestic industry and the Japanese longliners that operated in our waters under the Australia-Japan bilateral fishing agreement.
Operators who broke the law would be subject to fines of up to $12,500.
The Government also welcomed an announcement by game fishers and the commercial fishing industry that they had reached an agreement on fishing in area E, off Cairns.
The six point agreement recognised that commercial operators had a legitimate right to fish in the area, but set out a number of agreed restrictions, including the non-retention of all billfish (except broadbill swordfish).
The Coral Sea was one of the world's major game fishing areas and was one of the few places in the world where game fishers could chase the elusive 1000 pound (453 kg) black marlin. The game fishing industry's tag and release program meant that most of these magnificent fish were released back into the ocean.
For further information contact Bill McKinley (Senator Parer's office), phone (02) 6277 7440 or 0419 607487.
The Federal and Queensland Governments have endorsed a package of new management initiatives for Torres Strait Fisheries.
The initiatives were based on the recommendations of the Torres Strait Fisheries Management Committee which comprised Islander representatives, commercial fishers and officers from Commonwealth and Queensland fisheries and research agencies.
The new arrangements would achieve a simplification and streamlining of licensing and jurisdictional arrangements as well as management improvements in individual fisheries.
Formal arrangements were progressing for all commercial fisheries in the Torres Strait to be managed by the Protective Zone Joint Authority (PZJA) under Commonwealth law from early 1998. The major fisheries on the Australian side of the Torres Strait Protected Zone were currently managed by the PZJA under the Commonwealth Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984. All remaining fisheries in these waters were currently managed by Queensland under State law.
Once a single jurisdiction was introduced for Torres Strait fisheries it would also enable the rationalisation and simplification of fishing licences for Islanders. The proposed new licensing system was supported by Islander communities.
Ministers agreed that a management levy on prawn fishermen be split on the basis of fixed and variable components. The levy is to be phased in over a three-year period, 40 per cent in 1997-98, 70 per cent and 100 per cent in subsequent years.
To assist the involvement of Torres Strait Islanders in prawn fishing the vessel size for licences set aside for Islanders has been increased to 20 metres and the requirement for a Queensland east coast licence waived. The Government praised the approach of commercial prawn fishermen in offering their expertise and time to assist Torres Strait Islanders to join this fishery.
A major workshop is planned involving fisheries agencies, researchers and Island community representatives to examine the need for further measures to ensure the sustainability of dugong stocks in the Torres Strait.
For further information contact Bill McKinley (Senator Parer's office), phone (02) 6277 7440 or 0419 607487; Mick Bishop (Australian Fisheries Management Authority), phone (070) 691 307.
The Federal Government has decided to abolish compulsory prawn export promotion levies. The decision will save prawn operators an average of $800 per year.
The decision follows an industry plebiscite that showed that 85 per cent of the prawn operators who voted opposed the levies. The response rate was extremely high, 66 per cent.
The prawn industry at present pays two compulsory export promotion levies: the prawn boat levy and the prawn export charge. The levies fund the activities of the Australian Prawn Promotion Association (APPA) and raised about $400,000 in 1996-97.
The Federal Government believes that compulsory primary industry levies should only be imposed on an industry if the levies have substantial industry support, and there was significant market failure.
The prawn industry clearly did not support the levies. A month-long ballot of the industry was held: only 46 operators said they supported the levies, compared with 266 that voted against them. The plebiscite was conducted under tight security conditions by an independent consultant, Coopers and Lybrand.
The plebiscite was not, of course, binding. The Government has considered its results, as well as representations from the industry, including Kailis and France.
The levies would end on 1 January 1998. Operators would be required to pay levies for the first half of the 1997-98 financial year.
The Government supported export promotion, but was not prepared to impose compulsory levies on an industry that clearly did not want them. Instead, prawn operators would be encouraged to work together through APPA on a voluntary basis to promote their industry.
The decision will not affect APPA's access to the $116,000 in accumulated levies held by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. A number of operators still owe back levies for previous financial years. The Government will continue to pursue those outstanding levies vigorously.
For further information contact Bill McKinley (Senator Parer's office), phone (02) 6277 7440 or 0419 607487.
Australia and New Zealand will hold urgent talks on protecting orange roughy to the south of Tasmania.
The Minister for Resources and Energy, Senator Parer, said recently there had been a sharp increase in fishing for orange roughy on the South Tasman Rise by both Australian and New Zealand vessels over the past few weeks.
It was unlikely that the current high levels of fishing were sustainable, and this straddling stock could be depleted quickly if no action were taken. Reports from the Australian Fisheries Management Authority showed that catches of orange roughy were coming under pressure from fishing,
The South Tasman Rise is located 370 km south of Tasmania, and straddles the southern boundary of the Australian fishing zone (AFZ). An aggregation of orange roughy has been discovered in international waters just outside the AFZ on the South Tasman Rise and is being subjected to intensive fishing activity by vessels from Australia and New Zealand.
Senator Parer said the Australian Government was committed to ensuring that the South Tasman Rise stock was not subjected to the same unsustainable fishing practices as many other high seas and straddling orange roughy stocks around the world.
Both Australia and New Zealand had clear responsibilities under the Law of the Sea and the United Nations Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks to cooperate to the maximum extent possible in taking action to conserve and manage this resource.
Australia had been proposing an immediate voluntary withdrawal of both Australian and New Zealand fishing vessels from the South Tasman Rise, to take pressure off the stocks and to allow time for responsible management measures to be put in place.
Senator Parer's counterpart in New Zealand, the Hon John Luxton MP, had agreed to hold urgent talks so that management action could be taken to place this fishery on a sustainable footing.
Australian and New Zealand officials and industry were due to meet in late November.
These talks were expected to result in an agreed approach for cooperative action by Australia and New Zealand that would ensure the long-term sustainability of this valuable new fishery.
For further information contact Bill McKinley (Senator Parer's office), phone (02) 6277 7440 or 0419 607487, or Mary Harwood (DPIE) phone (02) 6272 5044 or 0419 260930.
A recent agreement concerning use of the Jervoise Bay Industrial Estate between the State Government and Transfield ASI Pty Ltd is set to boost the economy and create more jobs in Western Australia.
The agreement between LandCorp and Transfield followed complex negotiations aimed at rationalising big tracts of strategically valuable shorefront land.
Jervoise Bay is home to one of the country's biggest concentrations of shipbuilding industry and this agreement offers two-fold benefits:
Successful negotiation of this agreement will also help WA industry bid more effectively for national and international ship building contracts. It is expected that more than 70 per cent of the spin-off employment associated with increased shipbuilding activity will be contracted out to small business.
Common user facilities will also be established on part of the land relinquished by Transfield to enable smaller operators ready access to the shorefront.
For further information contact Anabel Gomez, phone (08) 9366 0300 or (08) 9222 9595, or Peter Jackson, phone (08) 9222 8788 or (08) 9222 9595
Industry sources estimated that total freight costs for the carriage of Australia's international liner cargo was about $4000 million in 1996-97. About 40 per cent of this cost was for freight on exports and 60 per cent was for freight on imports. Ultimately these costs were picked up by Australian producers and exporters and if we were to foster this growing sector of the economy we had to ensure these costs were competitive.
This was the thrust of a speech by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business, Mr Peter Reith, to the Australian Chamber of Shipping in Sydney last month.
Unless some action were taken there would be no Australian shipping industry left in a few short years. Thirteen years of Labor Government had left a legacy of an industry in decline, he said.
The number of major trading ships in Australia's fleet had dropped from 85 to 66 over the last 10 years and the coastal trade had become so much less competitive than rail that the market share of shipping fell from 47 per cent in 1980 to 31 per cent in 1993. If you combined the coastal and international shipping requirement then over 90 per cent of Australia's shipping needs were being met by foreign shipping companies.
The waterfront was hardly better. Crane rates were low, way below Australia's potential given our human resources and the level and quality of capital equipment in our ports. Mr Reith said he understood and accepted that international comparisons were limited by the inherent features of our waterfront and the shipping traffic coming to Australia. However, there had been reports, based on figures provided to Waterline by one shipping line, that in 1995 Auckland crane rates were 40 per cent higher than those for the Australian-ports in which this shipping line did business. It was a disgrace that Australia should lag so far behind New Zealand in stevedoring productivity.
Not only did we have chronically poor crane rates, our waterfront was beset by industrial action that undermined our reputation as a reliable supplier. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures revealed that last year there were 1250 working days lost per thousand employees - almost ten times the national average.
Waterline data reveals some improvement in the Five Port average crane rates over the last nine months, but if you scratched the surface the figures revealed that performance remained low and patchy. The provisional Five Port average of the June quarter 1997 was 18.3 (container lifts per hour). This was the first time since the September 1996 quarter that crane rates had been 18 or more. After the September quarter last year - when the rate was 18.0 - the rates dropped to 17.1 in the December 1996 quarter and then rose marginally to 17.4 in the March 1996 quarter.
Australian ports and Australian shipping can, and must, do better, he said.
The Government considered that the most effective way to run a business was to allow those in the enterprise, those facing the day-to-day decisions, to negotiate agreements, either collective or individual agreements, that would best suit their needs.
Agreements negotiated at the workplace level were the best means of establishing arrangements that were flexible and productive and of benefit to both the employer and employees. That is why the principal object of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 is to 'provide a framework for cooperative workplace relations by:
Mr Reith said that in his view, the proposals developed by the Shipping Reform Group were quite consistent with this fundamental objective of the Act.
He said he did not support the concept of the Government providing financial support as a reward for people adopting community standards for employee practices. Some people described fiscal support as 'industry policy'. He did not.
He said he understood the role which the Shipping Reform Group anticipated for government-provided reform linked subsidies, but his fundamental premise was that in the shipping industry, as in other industries, there must be a continuing effort by enterprises to improve their own performance simply because that was the reasonable thing for business people to do.
At this stage, the Australian shipping industry was not making a sufficient effort to improve its performance which could justify government financial support.
Mr Reith said he suspected that what was occurring was that the industry simply was not doing enough to reach some threshold level at which it hoped government support cut in. However, in circumstances in which the Shipping Reform Group itself anticipated that the industry would still be un-competitive, despite the level of Government support which it proposed. The onus lay with the industry to maximise efficiency and productivity.
For further information contact Ian Hanke, phone 0419 484 095.
The WA Government has established a steering committee to progress a proposal for the development of a Maritime Precinct at the western end of Victoria Quay in Fremantle.
Premier Richard Court will chair the committee which includes the Mayor of Fremantle, Minister for Transport, Minister for the Arts, the chief executive officers of the Fremantle Port Authority, Ministry of Culture and the Arts, Westrail and the Government Property Office.
Following the inaugural meeting of the committee at Fremantle last month, Mr Court said a project management group would develop a master plan to be considered by the steering committee.
It is proposed that the precinct include a Maritime Museum on Victoria Quay to house America's cup winner, Australia II, which would be linked by a waterfront promenade to C-shed and the railway station and bus terminal.
Other elements could include:
For further information contact Casey Cahill, phone (08) 9222 9475.
[continued from page 1]
The Federal Government had also given additional funding to fight the importation of illicit drugs in other areas. New cargo examination capability, supported by the latest x-ray and electronic search technology, will be provided. This will enable high risk containers from overseas to be searched.
The Government has also recognised the role of modern intelligence analysis techniques in the drug fight and provided funding for additional intelligence analysts to be recruited and trained by Customs.
The new measures would enable Customs to build on their already impressive record in intercepting importation of illicit drugs.
For further information, contact Leon Bedington (Australian Customs), phone 0418 740 980.
The WA Government recently announced the construction of a new $2 million boat to patrol the State's coastal fishing and boating waters.
The 23-metre yet-to-be-named vessel will operate from Esperance to the North-West Shelf, with a range of 1,000 nautical miles.
Transport Minister, Mr Eric Charlton, said the vessel would be operated jointly by the Fisheries and Transport Departments as part of a partnership between the agencies to improve the efficiency of their services.
From 1 July Fisheries and Transport have joined forces to enhance the delivery of marine safety and compliance measures around the State.
This multi-purpose vessel will have double the range and be one and a half times faster than the vessels it replaces, allowing it to travel anywhere in the State to meet the needs of the fishing and marine transport sectors. The vessel will offer substantial savings to the community and Government because of its all round capability and more efficient running costs.
The merger will save the Government about $1 million in boat replacement costs. The boat is being constructed by Geraldton Boat Builders and is expected to be ready for service by April next year.
The new vessel replaces the Fisheries Department's 20-year-old Abel Tasman (sold last year), the 15 year old Dirk Hartog and the Transport Department's patrol boat the Vigilant.
For further information contact Doug Cunningham (Minister Charlton's office), phone (08) 9321 7333.
2-4 December 1997
Association of Maritime Education and Training Institutions in Asia Pacific
1st Annual General Meeting and Seminar, Singapore Polytechnic
The seminar will concentrate on two themes:
8-10 December 1997
'Science and Ocean Law' Workshop
Wollongong
The workshop, involving Australian and Chinese officials, marine scientists and academics, will address the integration of marine science with ocean law to achieve more effective national and international marine environmental management.
Contact: Sam Bateman, Centre for Maritime Policy, University of Wollongong, Wollongong NSW 2522, phone (02) 4221 3224, fax (02) 4226 8866.
12 December 1997
'Management of Regional Seas - Cooperation and Dialogue'
Canberra
This one-day seminar will consider the role of regional seas as catalysts for cooperation, confidence-building and preventive diplomacy.
Contact: Sam Bateman, Centre for Maritime Policy, University of Wollongong, Wollongong NSW 2522, phone (02) 4221 3224, fax (02) 4226 8866.
24-26 February 1998
Undersea Defence Technology Pacific 98
Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour
Sponsored by Undersea Defence Technology and The Hydrographic Society (Australasian Branch)
Topics covered are: combat systems, environment/hydrography, mine warfare, non acoustic detection, operational analysis, ship design/signature management, sonar systems & processing, UUVs, weapons & countermeasures.
Contact: UDT Pacific 98, Nexus House, Swanley, Kent UK BR8 8HY, phone +44 1322 660070, fax +44 1322 661257; or Michael Calder, 20 Milham Crescent, Forestville NSW 2087, phone (02) 9451 2238, fax (02) 9975 7158.
Availability of Publications:
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