In a response to a number of incidents where containers have fallen off freight ships, such as that of the APL England incident in May, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) will launch a campaign inspecting the cargo securing practices on every cargo ship calling at all Australian ports between August and October. AMSA said recent incidents such as the APL England incident and the YM Efficiency incident in 2018 caused “significant damage to Australia’s iconic marine and coastal environment”. It also commented that “Incident investigations by AMSA discovered improper stacking and securing of cargo, and poor maintenance of securing equipment is likely to have been contributing factors to these incidents”.
All vessels calling at Australian ports are required to comply with cargo securing standards laid out in Chapter VI of the Safety of Life At Sea convention, which Australia has been a signatory to since 1983.