CORAL KNIGHT

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Emergency towing vessel pulled damaged patrol boat to Cairns

The ABFC "Roebuck Bay", 134 ts, which was grounded at Henry reef at 16 knots at 1 a.m. on Sep 30, 2017, was towed backwards by the "Coral Knight" to Cairns on Oct 5 after having been refloated and taken under tow by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s emergency towing vessel. The damaged boat limped into Cairns in the early morning to undergo repairs in a Portsmith dry dock. It suffered serious damage to its hull, with one hole measuring approximately 8x05 meters. The cause of the incident has not yet been revealed. The GBRMPA would be assessing if there was any environmental damage to the reef. Report with photos: http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/8m-long-hole-ripped-into-hull-of-australian-border-force-vessel-after-running-aground-on-reef/news-story/9673e60738c31a9dcf75dfa620fc459e

Swissco Holdings disposed of offshore ship

The interim judicial managers of Swissco Holdings announced on Apr 13, 2017, that it has entered into a memorandum of agreement with Australian Maritime Systems Asset Holdings for a proposed disposal of the "Coral Knight" for the consideration of US$7.2 million. The amount comprises a sales commission of US$172,000 payable by Australian Maritime Systems and the balance of US$7.03 million payable by cash. The sale price was arrived at based on, among other factors, the net book value of the vessel of US$5.02 million as of Nov 30, 2016, and after taking into account an independent desktop valuation of the vessel on Jan 23, 2017, at an indicative range of US$5 million (being the forced sale value of vessel) to US$10 million (being the fair market value of the vessel). The "Coral Knight" has been mortgaged in favour of OCBC as security for obligations under certain banking facilities extended by OCBC. Built in 2014, the vessel is currently bareboat chartered to Australian Maritime Systems up till April 29, 2017.

"Coral Knight" crew initiated an assembly in Cairns after they were sacked from their jobs

The crew of the emergency "Coral Knight" initiated a community assembly at the wharves in Cairns on March 30, 2017, after they were sacked from their jobs on the ship. These Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) members were joined by dozens of unionists, environmental activists and other local community members. The 10 sacked seafarers feared public and environmental safety had been put at risk for the sake of replacing them with a cheaper alternative. The role of the ship, which is based in Cairns, is to conduct critical safety operations at sea. The "Coral Knight" crew has trained and worked specifically in front line emergency response tasks for more than three years. Having only recently found out they would lose their jobs, the seafarers took the ship south to Palm Island near Townsville last week to stand by to assist in the response to Cyclone Debbie. The seafarers’ jobs were threatened when the government contract to staff the Coral Knight was given to Teekay (TK) Shipping based purely on reducing costs and gouging extra profit. TK has filled positions in this vital service protecting the Great Barrier Reef by paying up to $15,000 less, 4% less superannuation and a big reduction in leave allowances. The crew did not get offers of work from TK. When they heard TK had gotten the contract, they applied to the company to continue their work, but TK failed to consider employing even one of the current, highly trained, crew. Unlike other recent sackings from Australian-based ship crews, the new crew are qualified seafarers and MUA members. However, they are new to the "Coral Knight". Yet TK expected them to take over the ship with no immediate plan for training and without even a handover from the old crew, which the union tried to negotiate. TK had announced the pay and conditions that would apply, ignoring the existing agreement for the ship. The crew and the MUA hope community support will increase the pressure on the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and the companies involved in the contracting process to support workers’ wages and conditions, the safety and security of the Reef and the people working and living alongside it, by maintaining the "Coral Knight"'s workforce.