Australia’s DAFF “Biofouling Management Requirements for Ship Hulls” has been in effect for almost half a month, but many shipowners are still confused by the various documents and clauses…
Don’t worry, here comes Neptune’s regulation interpretation! In general, to smoothly enter Australian waters, ships must submit corresponding documentation before arrival to prove that they can implement one of the four plans proposed by DAFF. However, among them, only Plan 2 “Cleaning before arrival in Australia” is the most reliable option!
It is reported that DAFF has extremely high requirements for the attachment of marine biofoulings to its hull for the sake of ecological safety in the country, with ship cleaning and reporting standards adhering to the highest standards.
Neptune has already helped many ships reach the similar New Zealand MPI standard. Recently, based on the actual needs of shipowners on the Australia-New Zealand route, they launched the “Neptune Annual Assurance Program (ANZAC Specialized)”: providing customized annual care services, submitting cleaning reports that meet the highest requirements of Australia and New Zealand, helping ships pass the review and arrive at the port smoothly!
01-Unreliable! Unfeasible! May face fines or imprisonment!
The four plans provided by DAFF seem flawless, but after careful study by the Neptune team, they discovered that things are not that simple. Some seem feasible, but the actual success rate is low, while others are essentially unworkable.
The riskiest is Plan 1 “Biofouling Management Plan”, which does not include cleaning operations. It requires documentation involving past and future ship cleaning schedules and detailed information before and after cleaning, covering nearly 100 items! After submitting the information, DAFF will review it one by one and dispatch a diving team to inspect the ship as needed.
If false information is submitted, causing misleading information, you may face infringement notices, huge fines, or imprisonment!
As for the other two plans, DAFF currently only provides choices but does not provide implementation standards or conditions:
Plan 3 “Alternative Plan” requires proving that Plan 1 and Plan 2 are unfeasible before proposing an alternative plan. However, DAFF does not mention how to prove this or what kind of alternative plans can be approved. Plan 4 “Cleaning after Arrival” takes several weeks just for the approval process, and DAFF has already emphasized in official documents that requests for cleaning ships in Australian waters are unlikely to be approved due to biosecurity and environmental risk considerations…
02-No choice! Must clean the ship! Highest standards for cleaning and reporting information!
Among various high-risk and low-feasibility clauses, there is a simple but most feasible and officially recommended option: “Cleaning before arriving in Australia.”
As long as you clean all biofouling from the ship according to DAFF standards within 30 days before entering Australian territorial waters and submit a detailed report, you can avoid inspections and subsequent inquiries and assessments, directly entering the port!
Some shipowners may think that cleaning the ship and submitting a report is easy. Not so! Australia has set extremely high standards for ship cleaning and reporting information with biosecurity as the starting point.
DAFF requires the complete removal of any biofouling from the ship’s hull, both above and below the waterline. At the same time, the cleaning report is far beyond ordinary requirements, covering a wide range of content, including clear videos/photos of all parts, both large and small, before and after cleaning.
03-“Neptune Annual Assurance Program (ANZAC Specialized)”
We’ll take care of everything for you!
As early as November last year, after the release of Australia’s “Biofouling Management Requirements for Ship Hulls,” the Neptune team began studying relevant regulations and successfully helped several client ships meet the similar New Zealand MPI standards, arriving at the port smoothly! For reference, see the case of Heading to New Zealand! To meet MPI standards, a container ship was cleaned at multiple locations in Ningbo-Shenzhen within half a month.
Recently, Neptune launched the “Neptune Annual Assurance Program (ANZAC Specialized)”. With this service, you can enjoy:
(1) Gold Medal Nanny-Level Service! Neptune has successfully helped dozens of ships pass New Zealand MPI inspections and is familiar with New Zealand and Australian management regulations. With rich experience, Neptune will provide high-standard cleaning services for your ships, allowing them to smoothly arrive at Australian and New Zealand ports!
(2) Intelligent management with zero worries! Neptune customizes ship annual protection plans through “hardcore technology” and “digital-driven” approaches, allowing you to manage while intelligently monitoring the ship’s status in real-time!
(3) Get big results with a small investment! With the “Neptune Annual Assurance Program (ANZAC Specialized)”, the team provides “door-to-door service” on time, allowing you to enter Australia and New Zealand ports “unimpededly” at any time! In addition to avoiding huge fines, you can also save hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel costs!
With their rich experience in successful operations, multi-regional, all-weather service characteristics, world-leading ship cleaning technology, and the ability to provide reports that meet the highest requirements of Australia and New Zealand, the “Neptune Annual Assurance Program (ANZAC Specialized)” has become the choice of many shipowners on the Australia-New Zealand route!
