Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Act 2003

The Secretary may give a direction to:

the ship operator for a regulated Australian ship; or

the master of the ship;

A direction under subsection (1) is a ship enforcement order.

The Secretary may only give a ship enforcement order if he or she reasonably believes that:

the regulated Australian ship named in the ship enforcement order has operated in contravention of this Act; and

the ship enforcement order is necessary to safeguard against unlawful interference with maritime transport or offshore facilities.

The ship enforcement order must:

bear a clear and direct relationship to the contravention; and

be proportionate to the contravention.

The action that a ship operator or master may be directed to take under subsection (1) includes, but is not limited to, the following:

removing the ship from specified waters;

removing the ship from a security regulated port;

moving the ship within a security regulated port;

removing the ship from an offshore security zone;

if the ship is located in the vicinity of a security regulated offshore facility and is engaged in any activity in relation to the facility—removing the ship from the vicinity of the facility;

holding the ship in a particular position for a specified period or until a specified event occurs;

taking particular actions, or ensuring that particular actions are taken, on board the ship;

allowing a maritime security inspector on board the ship to inspect the ship or ship security records carried by the ship.

A ship enforcement order has no effect unless the Secretary commits the direction to writing before giving it.