In its budget this week, Australia's Federal government announced reforms for foreign-flagged vessels operating in the country's waters.
The new measures appear to revert to something similar to the earlier pre-2012 coastal trading system.
In the Budget Paper No 2, Part 2: Expense Measures under the sub-headings "Infrastructure and Regional Development" and "Coastal Shipping Reform", the government announced:
- the introduction of a single Coastal Trading Permit for all ships to replace the current tiered system;
- amending legislation to allow the carriage of petroleum products;
- applying a minimum Australian senior crewing requirement for foreign ships remaining on the coast for more than 183 days in a permit period;
- reducing monthly trade reporting requirements to annual reporting;
- removing exemptions for large ships from the Coastal Trading Permit requirements;
- better aligning employment conditions for ships based in Australia with international standards;
and
- making amendments to the Australian International Shipping Register to improve competition among foreign-flagged ships.