COAST COMMUNITY tVheoicneorofth 3 JUNE 2020
ISSUE 191
REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL WEEKLY NEWS
HEALTH WORKERS PROTEST
News
See page 25
Life could be back to normal sooner than we think, as the NSW Government’s sweeping reform to lockdown restrictions come online. See page 7
Out&About
P O T S SS! E R P
Central Coast Meals on Wheels’ Paula Howard has been crowned Volunteering Central Coast’s Volunteer of the Year for 2020.
WAGE FREEZE REJECTED
As we were going to print, news came through that the NSW Upper House rejected the government’s proposed wage freeze.
See page 13
Editorial
See www.coastcommunitynews.com.au for full details
APL England held in detention The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has laid charges against the Master of the APL England cargo ship which lost about 50 shipping containers overboard, causing debris and mangled shipping containers to be strewn along the Central Coast foreshore. On Sunday morning, May 24, the APL England, en route from Ningbo, China, to Melbourne, hit rough seas causing the containers to fall overboard 73kms south-east of Sydney. The Singapore flagged ship docked in Brisbane where the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and Australian Transport Bureau started an investigation. Charges laid by AMSA relate to offences of pollution and/or damage to the Australian
Containers crashed on to rocks at Bateau Bay
marine environment as a result of poor cargo loadings. AMSA says the ship had inadequate lashing arrangements for cargo and securing points for containers
on deck were heavily corroded. The ship had a temporary loss of propulsion and during that time it was rolling heavily, which caused container stacks to collapse and part of the load
went overboard, AMSA said. AMSA General Manager Operation, Allan Schwartz, said laying charges against the ship’s Master was not undertaken lightly.
“This and other incidents remind us of the important role the ship’s Master has in ensuring that the ships that ply our waters are operated safely and do not damage our marine environment,” he said. “The ship’s owner, APL Singapore, the insurer, Steamship Mutual, and operator, ANL, remain accountable for remediation of any impacts of this incident. “The ship remains under detention in the Port of Brisbane and we are seeking $22M in financial security from the insurers to cover the estimated costs of a clean-up, and the ship’s serious deficiencies have to be rectified before the ship will be released.” Schwartz said the impacts of this incident could take months, if not years, to remediate. Continued page 4
For people with a disability, the prospect of finding open, engaging employment on the Coast was already limited. See page 30
Sport
The NZ Warriors made an impressive re-start to the 2020 NRL season with an 18-0 upset win over the Dragons at Central Coast Stadium on Saturday, May 30. See page 32
Puzzles page 19
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