INSIGHT: Mis-declaring dangerous goods is never the answer
SHIPPING line ANL has announced a peak season hazardous surcharge (PSHS) for all hazardous cargo loading from Melbourne and Sydney to New Zealand, effective 15 October. The charge...
Disclosure is not a substitute for resolving the underlying problem
AUSTRALIAN cargo owners may soon hear more about strengthened disclosure arrangements for terminal landside charges. Greater transparency is welcome. But improved notice of when...
IFCBAA concerns on RBA credit card fee proposals
IFCBAA members are concerned about proposals that would prevent businesses from passing on credit card processing fees to customers and instead require businesses to absorb these...
OPINION: Tougher tobacco laws welcome, but they don’t stop the shops
Everyone agrees that illicit tobacco has become one of the most lucrative criminal markets in the country, so the Combatting Illicit Tobacco Bill 2026 was supported by both sides...
TRADE LAW: New world order?
The Australian Prime Minister has very recently delivered a speech before the United Nations stating that the post-1945 international order was no longer “fit for purpose” and...
OPINION: Boosting defence quickly and cheaply
INDULGE yourself with a fascinating read of Admiral Sir Reginal Henderson’s 1911 recommendation for the protection of Australia’s coast. This report he wrote after a personal...
OPINION: ATO software royalty ruling may contain a customs impact
ON 4 September the ATO finalised TR 2026/2, its view on when cross-border software payments are royalties subject to withholding tax. Importers of physical goods should also look...
OPINION: What future for Smartship Australia?
BENEATH the everyday activity of Australia’s ports, pilotage and deck-officer community, one question is increasingly being asked: what is happening at Smartship Australia? That...
Northern Sea Route: Shortcut to resilient shipping or just another geopolitical risk?
THE NORTHERN Sea Route (NSR) was mainly a geographic curiosity for international shipping for many years. Today, the NSR is attracting attention from shipowners, cargo interests...
INSIGHT: Cape Falcon grounded and what your business can learn from it
WEEKENDS and holidays are notorious bad luck charms for maritime incidents to occur (especially four day weekends). The consequence of a 24/7 industry is it doesn't neatly happen...
OPINION: Cape Falcon grounding - Why doesn't Australia have its own OPA 90 style regime?
FOUR days into the Cape Falcon grounding, the owner is engaging salvors, who can then begin the work needed to shape a recovery plan: side scan for bottom profile, drafts/list, to...
INSIGHT: Government legislation attacks illicit tobacco
THOSE in the supply chain are subject to extensive legislative and other regulatory controls. There is debate on the ways in which those controls are imposed and varied,...
The supply chain factors behind fuel tankers' extended offshore anchorage
THE SIGHT of fuel tankers sitting offshore for extended periods can look unusual from outside the industry, particularly when the vessels may be accruing significant costs while...
Ten years on: What Hanjin taught the industry about crisis
TEN years ago, I was working carrier-side in Melbourne when the reports started coming in. Ships holding position outside ports rather than coming in. Not because of weather, not...
The Tampa, 25 years on: A master's duty, a nation's response
ON 26 August 2001, the Norwegian container ship MV Tampa altered course in the Indian Ocean to answer a distress call from the Australian Rescue Coordination Centre. Its master,...
