The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft
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WATERWAYS – Waterfront Business In brief… Sydney ferry company sold The South Australian tourism and transport company SeaLink Travel Group has purchased the Sydney Harbour operator Captain Cook Cruises. The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, includes 15 vessels operating on Sydney Harbour and the paddlewheeler Murray Princess, which operates cruises along the Murray River. It will increase SeaLink's annual revenue by about A$30 million to about $110 million. The combined operations will employ up to 300 people, with no redundancies. The company employs more than 650 staff across Australia and New Zealand. SeaLink's managing director, Jeff Ellison, said the acquisition fitted the company's strategy of "connecting Australasian icons and landscapes to the world", by giving the company access to Sydney. Captain Cook Cruises has been in operation for more than 40 years under Captain Trevor Haworth, a leading figure in Sydney tourism. Dredging appeal draws out An appeal against Port of Tauranga dredging the shipping channel in the harbour by local Maori iwi means it will be well into 2012 before the Environment Court can deliver its decision. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council granted a resource consent to the port company in June last year to widen and deepen the harbour to allow it to handle ships carrying up to 8000 containers, twice the current capacity. But local iwi Ngaiterangi and hapu Nga Potiki and Ngati Ruahine appealed the decision. A further court hearing will be held in November. Port of Tauranga property manager Tony Reynish said the port was seeking a long-term partnership with iwi. "We had hoped to reach agreement. It's disappointing we haven't. "We've no wish to dredge to a greater extent than is necessary to get the ships in and out of the harbour safely," Reynish said. The proposed dredging would remove 15 million cubic metres of material, mainly sand, from the Tanea Shelf. Ngaiterangi and the hapu argued that they would lose their kaimoana (seafood) and their relationship with Te Awanui (Tauranga Harbour) would be adversely affected physically, culturally and spiritually. The port said it would establish plans for kaimoana restoration, such as re-seeding pipi beds and creating an artificial reef. Navy officer tweets on grounding A COMMANDER WITH the Royal Navy has claimed on the social networking site Twitter he will not face further disciplinary action for grounding the nuclear submarine HMS Astute off the Scottish island of Skye. Commander Andy Coles spoke of his delight after the £1 billion Astute went aground while on trial manoeuvres last October. He wrote on Twitter: "Ten months to the day after the grounding have finally been told 'no charges' to be brought!" Later, he added: "Time to rebuild my reputation and career ... after a well earned week in Greece!" But the Ministry of Defence denied Coles was in the clear. "No decision has yet been made on whether he will face a court martial," a spokesman said. Coles lost his command after the incident, which damaged the rudder. Royal Navy sources said the vessel had strayed from safe sea lanes. Following the 10-hour grounding, Astute was then in a collision with a rescue tug sent to free her. She broke down on her next foray at sea and limped back to base. HERE'S A PRIME example of how not to load, stow and secure cargo. A dhow on the quay at Bosaso. Pirates can afford a lot of airconditioning and refrigerators. But seamen from all over the world pay the price for it. GOVERNMENT TO INVEST IN PACIFIC FISHERIES NEW ZEALAND WILL invest $7.5 million in Pacific Ocean fisheries over five years to increase returns to Pacific nations, the Prime Minister, John Key, said on September 9. The programme would ensure a coordinated approach for private sector- led sustainable fisheries development in the Pacific, Key told the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Auckland. The investment will include upgrading training institutions, promoting seafood businesses, helping people in the industry obtain qualifications and boost the skills of fisheries officials in areas like international commerce and investment appraisal. Key said the Pacific Ocean's fisheries were crucial to the region and the livelihood of its denizens. Sixty percent of the global tuna catch comes from 48 Professional Skipper November/December 2011 the Pacific. Practical solutions would let Pacific Island countries achieve a bigger share of the profits from fish harvests. "We are implementing the $4.9 million Te Vaka Moana development programme this year, which will explore ways to maximise returns from the Southern longline fishery, improve fisheries management and address the issues caused by illegal fishing," Key said. In addition, New Zealand will partner with Kiribati to upgrade its fisheries and marine training centres. Kiribati has the world's second-largest exclusive economic zone. The leaders at the forum said they were concerned about illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, which causes losses of up to US$400 million per year for the region. PHOTO BY HANS VAN MAMEREN