INQ158

That the Director of Marine Safety works with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to ensure that State and port emergency arrangements interface appropriately with the National Maritime Emergency Response Arrangements.

That Harbour Masters are employed by a government body and remain geographically located at the port.

That the Department of Transport ensures that key stakeholders are engaged during the implementation of the approved Review recommendations. 

That the nominated marine safety authority undertakes a further assessment to determine the recommendations from this Review that may also be applicable to State waters outside commercial port waters. 

That the Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner ensures that an emergency services multi-agency working group is established to develop a specialist marine emergency response capability for Victoria based on the multi-agency Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) model.

That emergency services are required to work directly with ports and the nominated marine safety authority when ports are preparing marine emergency response arrangements.

That emergency services are required to work directly with port/channel managers and the nominated marine safety authority to identify and ensure availability of marine resources necessary for emergency services to meet their statutory obligations in responding to marine emergencies (this recomme

That emergency services are required to work directly with port/channel managers and the nominated marine safety authority to ensure that a training and exercise regime is established to enable emergency services personnel to develop and maintain the skills and knowledge relevant to marine emerge

That emergency services continue to take the lead role in marine emergencies and operate under their respective legislation, the Emergency Management Act and the State’s emergency management arrangements.

That emergency services increase their capability/capacity to respond to marine emergencies by undertaking the necessary training, increasing their awareness of port and ship operations and ensuring knowledge of the roles/responsibilities of the relevant authorities and stakeholders.

That legislation is prepared by the Department of Transport to ensure marine emergency management arrangements are clarified and provide:
• declaration of emergency management roles and responsibilities in the relevant marine legislation;

That the Water Division Emergency Response Plan is amended, by the Water Division emergency response coordinator, to provide a framework to coordinate a marine response that crosses declared port water boundaries and requires resource coordination and prioritisation.

Consequential or complementary amendments to the Emergency Management Act are required to ensure that:
• emergency planning and response arrangements for essential services (such as ports) are integrated with current State emergency management arrangements;

That, where practical, risk assessments, emergency planning, training and exercising are integrated to minimise duplication of effort.

That the nominated marine safety authority, in consultation with the Emergency Services Commissioner, senior emergency services personnel and relevant port stakeholders, is responsible for establishing appropriate performance standards, risk management guidelines and good practice guidelines for

That the standards and guidelines determined by the nominated marine safety authority require port/channel managers to conduct a marine emergency risk assessment using AS/NZ 4360:2004 Risk Management and, in addition, must require port/channel managers to:

That the accountability relationship between Harbour Masters and the Director of Marine Safety is strengthened in the relevant legislation.

That Harbour Masters have the appropriate powers, authority, accountability, skills, responsibility and indemnity to provide a coordinated response of marine resources in support of emergency services, except where the nominated marine safety authority is the control agency for a marine pollution

That Harbour Masters are the designated principle marine specialists within the port and work directly with emergency services to provide advice and the interface with the marine legislative powers, to manage a marine emergency.

That port/channel managers coordinate marine emergency planning for the port and are required to ensure that marine emergency arrangements are integrated with whole of port emergency management plans.

That, where applicable, consideration is given to legislative amendment that will enable the findings of this report to be applied to areas inside State waters but outside commercial port waters. 

That the port/channel managers coordinate marine emergency management planning in the port and are required to ensure that individual port stakeholder marine emergency management arrangements plans are integrated with the whole of port marine emergency management arrangements.

That the port marine emergency management arrangements are integrated with the Victorian Water Division Emergency Response Plan.

That port/channel managers are responsible for funding the preparation of marine emergency risk assessments and marine emergency response arrangements and ensuring the availability of identified marine resources in support of response to a marine emergency, to meet their statutory obligations. 

That emergency services are responsible for funding the development of the emergency services marine emergency response capacity/capability to meet their statutory obligations. 

That port/channel managers should be able, within the general context of the pricing/cost recovery arrangements established under the Port Services Act 1995 and pricing determinations made by the Essential Services Commission, to recover the reasonable costs of meeting their statutory obligations

That the nominated marine safety authority is responsible for development of a declared asset system and is required to ensure that port/channel managers utilise and maintain the declared asset system.

That port/channel managers are required to identify in the declared asset system (in conjunction with the emergency services) critical Level 1 declared assets and other Level 2 declared assets, that may be required in support of a marine emergency within the port, and that identified resource ava

That port/channel managers are required to ensure, through service agreements, licensing, direct acquisition or other means as appropriate, the availability of the critical Level 1declared assets.
As a minimum, Level 1 declared assets must include:
• emergency harbour towage;

That the nominated marine safety authority, in consultation with the Emergency Services Commissioner and senior emergency services personnel, is responsible for monitoring the implementation and auditing against appropriate performance standards, risk management guidelines and good practice guide

That the nominated marine safety authority is required to ensure that incident notification and data recording requirements for Victorian commercial ports are consistent and adhered to.