41-442: Australian Maritime Safety Authority ( AMSA ) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations . The authority has jurisdiction over Australia's exclusive economic zone which covers an area of 11,000,000 square kilometres (4,200,000 sq mi). AMSA maintains Australia's shipping registries :
82-424: A body corporate . '. A statutory authority is a generic term for an authorisation by Parliament given to a person or group of people to exercise specific powers. A statutory authority can be established as a corporate Commonwealth entity or a non-corporate Commonwealth entity. A statutory authority may also be a body within a Commonwealth entity, exercising the powers given by Parliament but administratively part of
123-510: A British colony. There was an important pearling industry from the 1860s until about 1970 when it collapsed in the face of competition from the plastics industry. Pearl-shelling was responsible for the arrival of experienced divers from many countries, notably Japan . In 1978 an agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea determined the maritime border in the Torres Strait. In the 1980s, Torres Strait Island people wanted to create
164-406: A name for the islands which related to their culture. Initially the name "Magani Malu Kes" was suggested for the region, but later adopting the acronym "Zenadh Kes", to refer to the Torres Strait. The acronym "ZENADTH KES" was first derived from 'Zey' (south), 'Naygay' (north), 'Dagam' (place/side), 'Thawathaw' (coastline) and KES (passage/channel/waterway). However, this has become modified and it
205-606: A passage south of New Guinea now known as Torres Strait. This discovery led Dalrymple to publish the Historical Collection of the Several Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean in 1770–1771, which aroused widespread interest in his claim of the existence of an unknown continent. It was Dalrymple who named the strait after Torres. Dalrymple was bitterly disappointed that it was James Cook and not he who
246-551: A ship to be navigated through the Torres Strait from west to east. According to the Sydney Gazette of April 1823: "This essay of nautical skill was accomplished after the loss of four anchors and the rudder". It was also the first occasion a ship was navigated through the Coral Sea from Torres Strait, south-eastward to the southward of New Caledonia . Lihou saw Sir James Saumarez' Shoal (now Saumarez Reefs ) on 27 February and named
287-560: A state-owned corporation as "a statutory authority that has corporate status". Statutory authorities at the State or Territory level are established under corresponding State or Territory laws. Each statutory authority tends to have its own enabling legislation, or originating act , even if it was established before the relevant over-riding legislation. For example, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
328-484: A surplus of more than $ 10 million. Marine safety activities of AMSA include: AMSA aims to protect the marine environment by administering programs to prevent and respond to the threat of ship-sourced marine pollution ; and together with the Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre , managing Australia's National Plan to combat pollution of the sea by oil and other noxious and hazardous substances. It
369-404: A unique indigenous culture which has drawn the interest of a range of anthropological, historical, archaeological and folklorist researchers. This includes an expedition from Cambridge University led by the early ethnographer Alfred Haddon in 1898, and the more contemporary regional work of Australian anthropologist Jeremy Beckett. Accounts of local Indigenous narrative traditions can be found in
410-616: Is an important international sea lane, it is very shallow (water depth of 7 to 15 m; 23 to 49 ft), and the maze of reefs and islands can make it hazardous to navigate. In the south the Endeavour Strait is located between Prince of Wales Island (Muralug) and the mainland. Shipping enters Torres Strait via the Adolphus Channel , which joins to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon to the southeast. Strong tidal currents occur in
451-719: Is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example regulations or statutory instruments ) in their field. They are typically found in countries which are governed by a British style of parliamentary democracy such as the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth countries like Australia , Canada , India and New Zealand . They are also found in Israel and elsewhere. Statutory authorities may also be statutory corporations , if created as
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#1732848440255492-562: Is now spelt Zenadh Kes. Due to proximity to the Papua New Guinea mainland, the northern Torres Strait islands experience occasional asylum seeker arrivals from across the Strait. A total of ten asylum seekers from Papua New Guinea were detected in each of 2012 and 2013. The strait links the Coral Sea to the east with the Arafura Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria in the west. Although it
533-720: Is responsible for administering MARPOL 73/78 , an international marine environmental convention designed to minimize pollution of the seas. AMSA can instigate prosecutions itself, but mainly works with states and territories during investigations and enforcement activities such as vessel inspections. A recent major AMSA project involved the rewrite of the Navigation Act 1912, the agency's governing statute. AMSA maintains two shipping registers . Ships registered on an Australian shipping register have Australian nationality for international shipping law purposes. Unless otherwise exempt, Australian owned ships are required to be registered on
574-560: Is the Western Province of Papua New Guinea . It is named after the Spanish navigator Luís Vaz de Torres , who sailed through the strait in 1606. The islands of the Torres Strait have been inhabited by humans for at least 2,500 years and possibly much longer. The various Torres Strait Islander communities have a unique culture and long-standing history with the islands and nearby coastlines. Their maritime-based trade and interactions with
615-525: Is the traditional language owned by the Western and Central islands of the Torres Strait. The Kala Lagaw Ya language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Torres Shire Council . Mabuiag is considered a dialect of Kala Lagaw Ya, one of the languages of the Torres Strait. Mabuiag (also written as Mabuyag) is a traditional language of Mabuiag , a Central Western island of
656-520: The International Association of Classification Societies . The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2011 directed AMSA to work co-operatively with the states and territories to create a national system for domestic commercial vessels, including any changes to Commonwealth, state and territory laws and administrative arrangements of the parties that are necessary to facilitate the reform. The new legislation came into effect in 2013, and
697-762: The Navigation Act 2012 and the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983 . Organised sea rescue in Australia was well established during the Second World War. Precursor international arrangements also included usage of a range of warning and communication systems. AMSA is funded largely through levies on the shipping industry. In the 2010-2011 financial year, AMSA recorded expenses of just over $ 146 million, with revenue at just under $ 159 million, creating
738-581: The Torres Strait Islands . There are at least 274 of these islands, of which 17 have present-day permanent settlements. These islands have a variety of topographies , ecosystems and formation history. Several of those closest to the New Guinea coastline are low-lying, formed by alluvial sedimentary deposits borne by the outflow of the local rivers into the sea. Many of the western islands are hilly and steep, formed mainly of granite , and are peaks of
779-621: The French had preceded him across the Pacific , Cook re-wrote this signalling drill as a possession ceremony, saying he had claimed Australia's east coast for the British Crown. In 1823 Captain John Lihou, Master of the 550-ton merchant ship Zenobia of Calcutta , was on passage from Manila to South America and chose a route through Torres Strait. Remarkably, this would become the first time for
820-701: The Papuans to the north and the Australian Aboriginal communities have maintained a steady cultural diffusion among the three societal groups, dating back thousands of years. The first recorded European navigation of the strait was by Luís Vaz de Torres , a pilot who was second-in-command on the Spanish expedition led by navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós who sailed from Peru to the South Pacific in 1605. After Queirós's ship returned to Mexico , Torres resumed
861-452: The Torres Strait. The Mabuiag language region includes the island landscape of Mabuiag within the local government boundaries of the Torres Shire Council and Mabuiag Island Council. In the 2016 Australian census , the population of the islands was recorded as 4,514 on the Islands, but many more Torres Strait Islander people live outside of Torres Strait in Australia. The two routes through
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#1732848440255902-465: The authority) and a number. Just as with laws enacted by Parliament, all laws made by a statutory authority must be published in the Government Gazette. The Parliament of Australia , or a State or Territory Parliament , will delegate its authority to a statutory authority for several reasons; The power to enact legislation has been delegated by Australian Parliaments (State and/or Federal) in
943-688: The basis of the publication Myths and Legends of Torres Strait (1970) and Tales from Torres Strait (1972). Her collection is now held by the State Library of Queensland and in 2008 it was added to UNESCO 's Australian Memory of the World Register . Two indigenous languages are spoken on the Torres Strait Islands: Kala Lagaw Ya (also known by variant names and spellings), and Meriam Mir (Meriam), as well as Brokan [Broken], otherwise called Torres Strait Creole . Kala Lagaw Ya
984-457: The commercial and traditional fisheries resources. The Treaty established a Torres Strait Protected Zone within which both nations manage access to fisheries resources. Each country exercises sovereign jurisdiction for resources on either side of the agreed jurisdiction lines. Environmental issues facing the region include the risk of mining waste from the Fly River in southern Papua New Guinea and
1025-410: The effects of ship-sourced pollution of the sea and carries oil pollution response equipment. The Authority publishes a range of materials in relation to maritime safety.As of 2011 its maritime survival manual Survival at Sea: A Training and Instruction Manual is in its 6th edition. Statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law ( statute ) that
1066-549: The entity." A statutory corporation is defined in the government glossary as a "statutory body that is a body corporate, including an entity created under section 87 of the PGPA Act" (i.e. a statutory authority may be a statutory corporation). An earlier definition describes a statutory corporation as "a statutory authority that is a body corporate", and the New South Wales Government 's Land Registry Services defines
1107-506: The following areas; Torres Strait The Torres Strait ( / ˈ t ɒr ɪ s / ), also known as Zenadh Kes ( pronounced [ˈzen̪ad̪ kes] ), is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea . It is 150 km (93 mi) wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula , the northernmost extremity of the Australian mainland. To the north
1148-707: The general and the international shipping registers. AMSA was established in 1990 under the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990 and governed by the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 . As at 2024, AMSA is a statutory authority within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts . Directors are appointed by the minister. The international treaties which AMSA administers include
1189-418: The general or international shipping register if it is a domestic commercial vessel, 24 metres or over in tonnage length, capable of navigating the high seas, or any vessel travelling overseas. Vessels engaging in international trading that are at least 24 metres in tonnage length and wholly owned or operated by Australian residents, or by Australian residents and Australian nationals may apply to be registered on
1230-524: The intended voyage to Manila via the Maluku Islands . He sailed along the south coast of New Guinea and discovered the strait that still bears his name. This discovery recorded in Spanish maps of the Pacific would later make possible James Cook 's expedition to Australia . Torres and his crew are not known to have sighted the Australian mainland visited just four months earlier by Willem Janszoon sailing Duyfken without conversely becoming aware of
1271-431: The international register. There are tax incentives for ships on the international register to make the register competitive with other registers, such as vessels being operated with mixed crews, with the majority of officers and crew not being required to be Australian citizens or residents. AMSA has delegated certain survey and certification functions to a number of recognised classification societies , which are members of
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1312-459: The narrow channels between islands and reefs, and large submarine sand dunes migrate across the seafloor. Some 580 coral reefs, including the Warrior Reefs and Eastern Patch Reefs, cover a total area of 2,400 km (930 sq mi) in the region, and the area also has some of the most extensive seagrass beds in the world. Several clusters of islands lie in the Strait, collectively called
1353-502: The northernmost extension of the Great Dividing Range . They became islands as sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age . The central islands are predominantly coral cays , and those of the east are of volcanic origins. There are several major policy and institutional frameworks in the Torres Strait region that support the sustainable use and management of marine resources while also protecting habitats, biodiversity and
1394-484: The reef system after Vice-Admiral James Saumarez . On this same trip, Lihou discovered the Lihou Reef and Cays and Port Lihou (originally named Port Yarborough, on the southern shore of Prince of Wales Island ). The London Missionary Society arrived on Erub (Darnley Island) in 1871. Although some of the Torres Strait islands lie just off the coast of New Guinea, they were annexed in 1879 by colony of Queensland , then
1435-504: The strait now known as Torres Strait. No specific records exists of Torres sighting the coast of a major land mass to his south, and early Spanish maps show the coast of New Guinea correctly but omit Australia. In 1769 the Scottish geographer Alexander Dalrymple , whilst translating some Spanish documents captured in the Philippines in 1762, had found Luís Vaz de Torres's testimony proving
1476-483: The sustainable management of natural resources. The islands' indigenous inhabitants are the Torres Strait Islanders , one of two ethnically distinct groups of Indigenous Australian peoples. Torres Strait Islanders are distinct from both the Papuans of adjoining New Guinea and from Aboriginal Australian peoples of the nearby Australian mainland, but related to both. The people of the Torres Strait have
1517-517: The traditional islander way of life. Most important of these is the Torres Strait Treaty, entered into by Australia and Papua New Guinea in February 1985. The Treaty defines sovereignty and maritime boundaries in the area between the two countries. It guides decision makers on protecting the way of life and livelihood of traditional inhabitants, on managing the protection of habitats, and on sharing
1558-506: The transition to the new system was completed in July 2018. Coral Knight is an anchor handling tug supply vessel modified to fulfil the role of dedicated emergency towage vessel (ETV). It is the only ETV of its type in Australia and operates in the particularly sensitive sea areas of the northern Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait . Coral Knight is also equipped to respond to other maritime incidents such as search and rescue or limiting
1599-453: The work of Nonie Sharp and Margaret Lawrie . Lawrie developed strong relationships with the people of the Torres Strait from the 1950s to 1970s, and many approached her to record and write down their personal stories and family histories. This resulted in her conducting research into the cultural history of the Torres Strait and collecting transcripts, audio recordings, photographs, slides, works of art and oral stories . Collectively they formed
1640-514: Was appointed commander of the expedition that eventually led in 1770 to the British encounter and charting of the eastern coastline of Australia. In 1770 Lieutenant James Cook rounded Cape York, turned south-west and landed on Possession Island . From the top of a hill, he signalled down to the ship that he could see a navigable passage through the dangerous Strait. Later in Batavia , where he learnt that
1681-467: Was established in 1949 by the Science and Industry Research Act , but it has since come under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 as legislation covering statutory authorities has evolved. Laws made by statutory authorities are usually referred to as regulations. They are not cited in the same fashion as an act of parliament, but usually with specific initials (depending on