Pasher Bulker

By Dean Summers, ITF Australia

As the floodwaters subside and life slowly starts to return to normal for the people of Newcastle and the Hunter region one single monument will remain in the minds of Novocastrians, if not on the city's main beach.

The 40,000 tonne Panamanian registered Pasha Bulker was at anchor in the Newcastle shipping queue to load coal when she was caught in the terrible storms which lashed the coast on Friday June 8. A series of events saw her eventually plough onto the heritage-listed Nobby's Beach, one of the most iconic natural features on that coast.

Ongoing investigations will determine why the ship did not acknowledge warnings and make her way out to sea with most of the other ships at anchor. Investigations should also establish why this empty ship had deballasted long before she needed to, leaving her light, underpowered and difficult to manoeuvre.

One issue which does not require any clarification however is that the Pasha Bulker is registered in a notorious FoC country, Panama, to the front company "Wealth Line Inc." I think the name "Wealth Inc." epitomises the attitude of those who use the FoC system.

Shipping Australia's CEO Llew Russell was quoted in the press as saying that he was "aghast" at the ITF and MUA's suggestion that the FoC flag played any role in the grounding of this ship. Llew went on to say that it was "distasteful" to him for anyone to categorise this 10-month-old ship as a substandard ship.

Well it's high time Llew had a closer look at the facts and the industry that he represents. While it's true some FoC operators aren't tyrants and don't seek to steal the food off the crew's table there are many examples of those who do exploit and abuse crews.

When the ITF talks about FoC's as being substandard it not only means rust buckets and slave ships. It also refers to poorly trained officers and ratings who are often over-worked and who are vulnerable to intimidation. This then opens the debate to some of the most serious and complex issues facing the maritime industry including security, environment and safety.

Newcastle is no stranger to the ITF where we have always relied on the community to understand and support our objectives. From crews being bashed and thrown overboard on the Glory Cape to workers being cheated out of their wages on the Caravos Horizon and now to the Pasha Bulker high and dry on the beach, FoCs leave their mark one way or another on the great port of Newcastle.

Hopefully the salvage workers will be able to get this monster off the beach and back out to sea soon with minimal environmental impact. But for as long as she remains there for all to see she will attest to the dangers of shipping and to the fragile nature of the industry. Hopefully she can remind governments that where they do have influence in our coastal industry FoCs should be the last option, never the first.

First published, The Newcastle Herald