Independent safety issue investigation into Queensland Coastal Pilotage
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- Inner Route of the GBR
- Hydrographers Passage
| The Great North East Channel compulsory pilotage area is part of the larger Torres Strait pilotage area. The Great North East Channel pilotage area has been separately defined, mainly for pilot licensing purposes. Essentially, the area comprises all the shipping routes and navigable waters of the Torres Strait, including the Prince of Wales Channel. Hence, a transit of the Great North East Channel generally means a Torres Strait transit.
The distance along the shipping routes between the Booby Island and Dalrymple Island pilot boarding grounds is about 125 miles. Therefore, a Torres Strait transit usually takes between 8 and 10 hours, depending on the ship’s speed. Pilot transfers in the Torres Strait are carried out by pilot boats. The boats for Booby Island transfers are based at Thursday Island, located northwest of Cape York near Horn Island (Figure 2). Dalrymple Island transfers are carried out by boats based at Coconut or Yorke islands in the Great North East Channel. Inner Route of the GBRThe Inner Route compulsory pilotage area comprises the waters between the mainland and the outer eastern edge of the GBR just north of Cairns to the Torres Strait (Figure 2). The pilotage area extends north from latitude 16º40’S to Cape York, where it partially overlaps the Torres Strait pilotage area, and is defined in this manner for pilot licensing purposes. Hence, the Prince of Wales Channel and the waters as far as the western entrance to the Torres Strait off Booby Island are part of both the Inner Route and Great North East Channel pilotage areas. The distance along the shipping route between the pilot boarding grounds off Cairns and Booby Island is about 500 miles. The duration of the transit depends mainly on the ship’s speed and tidal conditions and is usually between 25 and 40 hours. There are no places along the sparsely populated coastline which have been considered convenient for conducting a pilot transfer during the course of a transit. As a result, the Inner Route transit is the world’s longest single-handed (one pilot) pilotage. The charted shipping route in the non-compulsory pilotage section of the Inner Route south of Cairns continues for about 450 miles inside the GBR to the vicinity of Capricorn Channel (Figure 1). The large ports of Townsville and Mackay lie adjacent to the route while Gladstone and Brisbane are located further south. Pilot transfers in the Inner Route are generally carried out by pilot boats. There are two pilot boarding grounds located off Cairns, which are serviced by boats based there. Helicopters are also used off Cairns to transfer pilots to/from ships regularly transiting the area. The pilot boarding grounds located near the entrances to the Grafton and Palm Passages are seldom used. Hydrographers PassageThe Hydrographers Passage provides a deep water shipping route northeast of Mackay between the Cumberland Islands and Blossom Bank pilot boarding ground (Figure 3). The distance along the route from Blossom Bank to the port limits of Mackay and the adjacent port of Hay Point is about 115 miles. The compulsory pilotage area extends from Blossom Bank pilot boarding ground to the vicinity of Tern Island (located about 50 miles to seaward of Mackay). The distance along the shipping route between these two locations is about 80 miles and the pilotage usually takes 5 to 7 hours. Pilots of inbound ships end their duties off Tern Island but often remain on board until the ships are berthed or anchored inside port limits. Pilots normally board outbound ships at their berths and start piloting when approaching Tern Island. Figure 3: Section of navigational chart Aus 4621 showing area off Mackay 
Pilot transfers usually take place in the vicinity of Blossom Bank, Tern Island or anchorages off Hay Point. Transfers are generally conducted by helicopters operating from Mackay. Since December 2008, as an alternative to the high cost Blossom Bank helicopter transfers, one of the pilotage providers, Australian Reef Pilots, started conducting pilot transfers by pilot boat in eastern Papua New Guinea (PNG) waters. The boat operates from a floating base stationed off Torlesse Island in the Solomon Sea, all under the jurisdiction of the PNG National Maritime Safety Authority. This arrangement, according to the provider, provides a cost effective and safer alternative for pilot transfers. Directory: media media -> Applications to Drill media -> Unicef voices of Youth Chat Theme: Children and aids nigeria and Zimbabwe 13 October 2006 Background media -> Tsunami Terror Alert: Voices of Youth media -> Biblical Eschatology Presentation by: D. Paul Beck May 4, 2016 Ground Rules media -> Guide to completing the collection using the Omnibus system media -> The milk carton kids media -> Events Date and Location media -> The Gilded Age: The First Generation of Historians by H. Wayne Morgan University of Oklahoma, April 18, 1997 media -> Analysis of Law in the United Kingdom pertaining to Cross-Border Disaster Relief Prepared by: For the 30 June 2010 Foreword media -> Cuba fieldcourse 2010 Download 6.09 Mb. Share with your friends:
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