Marine Order 47 (Offshore industry units) 2019

This Marine Order is Marine Order 47 (Offshore industry units) 2019.

This Marine Order:

prescribes matters in relation to the issue of safety certificates for regulated Australian vessels that are offshore industry units; and

provides requirements for foreign vessels including certification; and

provides notification requirements for planned tows and other reporting matters.

Note Other Marine Orders also set out requirements that apply to offshore industry units. For requirements for oil tankers under the International Code on the Enhanced Programme of Inspections during Surveys of Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers, 2011 adopted by IMO Resolution A.1049 (27), as in force from time to time - see Marine Order 18 (Measures to enhance maritime safety) 2013. For prescribed matters for pollution certificates - see Marine Orders 91, 93, 96 and 97.

The following provisions of the Navigation Act provide for this Marine Order to be made:

section 98 which provides that the regulations may provide for safety certificates;

section 125 which provides that the regulations may make provision in relation to musters, drills, checks of machinery and equipment and other tests;

section 314 which provides that the regulations may provide for matters relating to certificates;

subsection 339(2) which provides that the regulations may provide for the matters mentioned in that provision including:

the design and construction of vessels;

machinery and equipment to be carried on board;

the operating, maintaining, checking and testing of machinery and equipment;

the stability of vessels;

saving of life at sea;

prevention, detection and extinguishment of fires;

the maintenance, testing, survey and certification of vessels.

Subsection 339(1) of the Navigation Act provides for regulations to be made prescribing matters required or permitted to be prescribed, or that are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Subsection 342(1) of the Navigation Act provides that AMSA may make a Marine Order about matters that can be provided for by regulation.

In this Marine Order:

anniversary date, for a certificate, means the day and the month of each year that corresponds to the date of expiry of the certificate.

certificate of classification, for a vessel, means a certificate issued by a classification society on completion of surveys or inspections verifying that the vessel is in compliance with its rules and regulations for the standards of hull, machinery, boilers, electrical equipment and control systems.

classification society means a non-government organisation that:

establishes and maintains technical standards for the construction and operation of vessels and offshore structures; and

verifies compliance with its rules and regulations.

Note For further information about classification societies - see the International Association of Classification Societies' website at http://www.iacs.org.uk.

Code of Safety for Diving Systems, 1995 means the Code of Safety for Diving Systems, 1995, adopted by IMO Resolution A.831 (19), as amended from time to time.

ISM Code means the International Safety Management (ISM) Code that has the same meaning as in Regulation 1 of Chapter IX of SOLAS.

ISM Guidelines means the Revised Guidelines on the implementation of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code by Administrations, adopted by IMO Resolution A.1071(28), as amended from time to time.

MODU (mobile offshore drilling unit) means a vessel capable of engaging in drilling operations for the exploration for or the exploitation of resources beneath the seabed (eg liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons, sulphur or salt).

Note This definition is based on the 2009 MODU Code.

MODU safety certificate, for a regulated Australian vessel, means a safety certificate that is:

issued under section 100 of the Navigation Act; and

in the form of the certificate set out in the MODU Code that applies to the vessel.

MODU Code means:

the Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units, 1979, adopted by IMO Resolution A.414(XI), as amended from time to time (the 1979 MODU Code); or

the Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units, 1989, adopted by IMO Resolution A.649(16), as amended from time to time (the 1989 MODU Code); or

the Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units, 2009, adopted by IMO Resolution A.1023(26), as amended from time to time (the 2009 MODU Code).

offshore industry unit means a vessel that:

is for use in any operational activity mentioned in subclause 4(1) or 4(5A) of Schedule 3 to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006; and does not include a vessel mentioned in subclause 4(6) of that schedule.

Note 1 The definition includes a vessel described in paragraph (a) whether or not the vessel is located in Commonwealth waters that has the meaning given by the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006.

Note 2 An offshore industry unit does not include a thing that is not a vessel such as a structure. See section 14 of the Navigation Act for the meaning of vessel.

planned tow, for a vessel, means a tow:

by the vessel of another vessel, from a port to another port or on an overseas voyage, that is planned by the owner of either vessel; and

that is not a tow of another vessel to assist in an emergency involving a threat to a person's life or to the environment.

Survey Guidelines under the Harmonised System of Survey and Certification means the Survey Guidelines under the Harmonised System of Survey and Certification (HSSC) 2017, adopted by IMO Resolution A. 1120(30), as amended from time to time.

towing assessment, for a planned tow, means an inspection or survey of:

1 or both vessels to be involved in the planned tow; or

the proposed arrangements for the tow.

Note 1 Some terms used in this Marine Order are defined in Marine Order 1 (Administration) 2013, including:

cargo vessel length passenger vessel

SOLAS.

Note 2 Other terms used in this Marine Order are defined in the Navigation Act, including:

foreign vessel issuing body marine incident owner recognised organisation (for organisations that have been prescribed for the definition - see Marine Order 1 (Administration) 2013) regulated Australian vessel vessel.

Note 3 For delegation of AMSA's powers under this Marine Order - see the AMSA website at http://www.amsa.gov.au.

In this Marine Order:

a term that is used but is not defined for this Order, and is defined in SOLAS or the MODU Code has the same meaning as in those instruments; and

a reference to the MODU Code that applies to the vessel means

for a MODU constructed before 1 May 1991 - the 1979 MODU Code; and

for a MODU constructed after 30 April 1991 and before 1 January 2012 - the 1989 MODU Code; and

for a MODU constructed after 31 December 2011 - the 2009 MODU Code.

mention of the Survey Guidelines under the Harmonised System of Survey and Certification is taken to be a reference to the Guidelines as if in force internationally on a mandatory basis; and

a reference in Schedule 1 or 2 to complies with, in relation to a Marine Order, means compliance with a requirement of the Order that applies to the vessel or its equipment to the extent it has not been disapplied by any exemption or replaced by any approved equivalent.

A reference in SOLAS or the MODU Code to the Administration is taken to mean:

for a regulated Australian vessel - AMSA; or

for a foreign vessel - the government of the country whose flag the vessel is entitled to fly.

For Regulation 11(c) of Chapter I of SOLAS, the appropriate authority for Australia is AMSA.

This Marine Order applies to an offshore industry unit that is:

a regulated Australian vessel; or

a foreign vessel.

Note This Marine Order does not apply to a vessel when it is a facility within the meaning of clause 4 of Schedule 3 to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006. See section 640 of that Act.

The owner of a regulated Australian vessel may apply to AMSA for approval of the use of an equivalent in accordance with Marine Order 1 (Administration) 2013.

AMSA may give approval of the use of the equivalent if satisfied that:

for a vessel that is a MODU - the use would not contravene the MODU Code that applies to the vessel; and

for any other vessel - the use would not contravene SOLAS; and

the use is at least as effective as compliance with the requirements mentioned in this Marine Order that it replaces.

Example 1

For MODUs, paragraph 1.6.4 of the 2009 MODU Code provides that an Administration may approve an alternate survey programme provided that the extent and frequency of the surveys are equivalent to renewal and intermediate surveys. For more details, see AMSA's website at https://www.amsa.gov.au.

Example 2

A performance based inspection (PBI) programme may be approved if AMSA is satisfied it is equivalent to survey arrangements required under this Marine Order. An equivalent survey arrangement should be developed by the owner of a vessel in conjunction with the vessel's recognised organisation. The arrangement may use a risk based methodology to outline matters including survey planning, the inspection cycle, structural condition and predicted modelling, evaluation reporting, repair and maintenance and appropriate documentation matters. For more details - see AMSA's website at https://www.amsa.gov.au.

In this section:

equivalent, for a vessel other than a MODU, means an alternative arrangement for the survey or inspection of the vessel.

use, for a vessel other than a MODU, means implementing or following a procedure for the implementation of an alternative arrangement for the survey or inspection of the vessel.

Note 1 For the definitions of equivalent and use that apply in relation to a MODU - see Marine Order 1 (Administration) 2013.

Note 2 The effect of this provision is that:

for a SOLAS certificate - the application for the approval may only relate to survey arrangements mentioned in Subdivision 2.3 and Schedule 1; and (b) for a non-SOLAS certificate - the application for the approval may only relate to survey arrangements mentioned in Subdivision 2.4 and Schedule 2. However, for a MODU safety certificate, application for the approval is not restricted to survey arrangements and may also relate to the matters mentioned in the definition of equivalent in section 6 of Marine Order 1 (Administration) 2013 to the extent those matters are requirements of this Marine Order.

Note 3 For an equivalent mechanism for the survey arrangements required by Marine Order 18 (Measures to enhance maritime safety) 2013 - see section 11 of that Marine Order.

Note 4 AMSA may revoke any approval if AMSA is no longer satisfied that use of the equivalent is at least as effective as compliance with the requirement in this Marine Order that it replaces.

Division 2 Certificates issued under the Navigation Act

Subdivision 2.1 Various matters about certificates

A regulated Australian vessel must have the following kinds of safety certificates:

for a vessel that is a MODU - a MODU safety certificate; and

for a vessel required under Regulation 12 of Chapter I of SOLAS to be issued a certificate- a corresponding certificate specified in Schedule 1; and

for a vessel not required under Regulation 12 of Chapter I of SOLAS to be issued a certificate or a cargo vessel <500 GT - a certificate specified in Schedule 2.

A certificate specified in Schedule 1 is also referred to as a SOLAS certificate in this Marine Order.

A certificate specified in Schedule 2 is also referred to as a non-SOLAS certificate in this Marine Order.

Note It is an offence under sections 103 and 104 of the Navigation Act if a vessel is taken to sea without a safety certificate of a specified kind in force for the vessel.

For section 99(1) of the Navigation Act, the following certificates are specified as safety certificates for which a person may apply:

a MODU safety certificate;

each certificate mentioned in Schedule 1;

each certificate mentioned in Schedule 2.

Division 3 of Marine Order 1 (Administration) 2013, other than section 17, applies to an application to AMSA for a certificate mentioned in subsection (1).

Note 1 An issuing body may issue a safety certificate under section 100 of the Navigation Act.

Note 2 Division 3 of Marine Order 1 (Administration) 2013 prescribes some general rules about the making and determination of various kinds of applications. Section 17 of that Marine Order provides for internal review of decisions about applications. That section does not apply to decisions about safety certificates because those decisions are reviewable by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal - see subsection 313(1) of the Navigation Act.

Subdivision 2.2 MODU safety certificates

For paragraph 100(1)(b) of the Navigation Act, the criteria for the issue of a MODU safety certificate are the following:

the vessel is a MODU;

if the vessel has an arrangement with a classification society for survey and inspection - a valid certificate of classification;

the vessel has completed an initial or renewal survey conducted by an issuing body in accordance with the MODU Code that applies to the vessel;

the vessel meets the standards, including arrangements, mentioned in the MODU Code that applies to the vessel.

For paragraph 100(2)(a) of the Navigation Act, a MODU safety certificate is subject to the conditions that:

the vessel and its equipment are maintained in accordance with the MODU Code that applies to the vessel; and

the MODU Code that applies to the vessel and Chapter 14 of the 2009 MODU Code are on board the vessel at all times and available to seafarers; and

the vessel complies with Chapter 14 of the 2009 MODU Code whether or not that Code applies to the vessel; and

for any gas cylinder on the vessel - its stowage is:

separate from any cylinder of breathing medium for use in diving operations; and

at least 3 m from accommodation areas, the navigating bridge and the radio room; and

the owner of the vessel can demonstrate that an arrangement for the transfer of personnel by a safe means is implemented on the vessel; and

the following is available for perusal on the vessel without the need for any seafarer to request access:

the determination required under section 51 of the Navigation Act;

any safe manning document determined under subsection 10(2) of Marine Order 21 (Safety and emergency arrangements) 2016; and

the survey of the vessel, and inspection of the outside of the bottom of the vessel, is conducted by an issuing body in accordance with the MODU Code that applies to the vessel; and

the certificate is endorsed following the completion of the annual survey, intermediate survey or inspection of the outside of the bottom of the vessel; and

after any survey required by this Marine Order has been completed, any change to the structure, equipment, fittings, arrangements or material covered by the survey, other than the direct replacement of equipment or fittings, is approved by the issuing body.

Note 1 The safe transfer of personnel is an arrangement to be addressed in a vessel's safety management plan. Information on industry best practice is available in the latest editions of Guidance on the transfer of personnel to and from offshore vessels (published by IMCA) and Health and Safety in Shipboard Work, including Offshore Support Vessels (Seacare Authority Code of Practice Approval). Marine Order 58 (Safe management of vessels) 2020 sets out operational obligations under the International Safety Management Code for vessels to which Chapter IX of SOLAS applies.

Note 2 An issuing body may impose other conditions on a safety certificate - see paragraph 100(2)(b) of the Navigation Act.

An issuing body may make an endorsement to a MODU safety certificate following the completion of any survey, or inspection of the outside of the vessel's bottom.

Note It is practice for an issuing body endorsing a certificate to be the same as the issuing body that originally issued the certificate.