Australia is copying the US’s MSP program. There has been discussion in Australia for a while now about cabotage laws and the lack of Australian mariners and ships.
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And where are they going to find these Australian flagged vessels ?
The same way US gets theirs; offer foreign owners who establish a US subsidiary and reflag some ships a big carrot in the form of subsidies, preferential cargo and (in the Aussie case) access to coastal trade.
Access to costal trade ?
The unions will spew !
I was based in Australia late 90,s with a Scandinavian ship owner. We had space available after Melbourne on the way to Freemantle. It was possable to get a flag waver on application & sometimes did. However fact is it’s a small market and not a lot of cargo moves across the country. With us is was mostly heavy and oversized. Out of gage truck or train.
Is there enough volume to support a container operation ? Don’t know but it would have to be competitive time and cost with Rail. is there a waterborne market up and down the East Coast Australia ? Probably but again it would have to be competitive with trucks transit and cost.
In 1969-70 I was Ch.Off. on a Norwegian flag ship that had just that.
On the way from NSW and Brisbane Qld. to Port Moresby, PNG we carried “part cargo” to Thursday Island, ports around Gulf of Carpentaria and Arnhemland.
Min. 10% of the cargo had to be to foreign port(s) to get permission.
Yes the Unions did their level best to put a stop to this, but they didn’t have the power, at least not at that time.
At one time two Union reps even came onboard in Brisbane to stirred up our Kanaka crews, (who were easy to lead).
PS> The crews were paid a flat rate of A$25.-/mth. (+ a suitcase containing working- and “go-shore” cloths worth min A$50 on signing on)
They got dressed up in their “go-ashore” cloths, assembled in the crew’s mess and refused to work. The Union men proclaimed that they were on strike for better wages. (All were having a good time)
The Captain brought the crew contract, signed and approved by the Australian Maritime Authorities in PNG. (PNG was an Australian Protectorate at the time)
He informed the Union men that they were on a Norwegian ship and that they were not welcome onboard, so please leave NOW!!
If they had any complains, to take it up with the Norwegian Embassy in Canberra, or the Australian Administration in Port Moresby.
The Union guys were escorted to the gangway. Peace were restored and the crew went back to work, after a “smoko”.
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