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Post by fish on Jan 9, 2023 20:39:54 GMT 12
Four cruise ships have been denied entry in the last month due to excessive biofouling. Apparently the issue is that more ships are being inspected because none came here during covid (I don't entirely follow that logic, but there is clearly an uptick in inspections). We all know recreational boaties get blamed with introducing or spreading every marine pest under the sun, and get nailed with near impossible compliance requirements. This story begs the question, if they've started inspecting more ships, and are finding more problems, what was going on beforehand? Loads of dirty ships coming in but not being inspected? Most of the cruise ships first call is Fiordland, i.e. where you need a special clean hull permit to get to even from within NZ. The Cruise Association is getting their knickers in a twist. I'd say the truth of the matter is they've been getting away with dodgy shit for a very very long time, the industry is complacent, and someone in charge at Biosecurity has decided to bust some balls. Maybe some beuacrate has worked out cruise ships have fuck all net revenue benefit to the country and out aquaculture industry and environment is worth far more? www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/482146/bodies-meet-to-address-biosecurity-concerns-over-cruise-ship-cleaning
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Post by dutyfree on Jan 10, 2023 9:01:36 GMT 12
Agree. What is the chance that some random individual dropped the weed at Barrier? More likely discharged by a ship, cruiseliner or other on entry.
All the other crap that we now have I am sure has arrived the same way. Last time I had the boat out I asked the antifoul guys about some "things" growing on the boat that I had not seen before. They said it had started appearing recently (this was during COVID, so probably had arrived and started spreading prior.
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Post by OLD ROPE π on Jan 13, 2023 8:42:15 GMT 12
What a waste of time.
What about tankers, freight, container ships!!!
No point fucking off one industry while other slip thru
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Post by em on Jan 13, 2023 9:22:56 GMT 12
What a waste of time. What about tankers, freight, container ships!!! No point fucking off one industry while other slip thru Tankers donβt go to Fiordland , Marlborough sounds , Stewart island , Barrier , BOI and drop anchor . But yeah the goods ships do anchor in the roadways of the major harbours
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Post by fish on Jan 13, 2023 10:38:50 GMT 12
It is my understanding a reasonable number of freight / commercial ships are being pinged too. They just don't make the media as they aren't as sexy as cruise ships. And as em rightly points out, don't go directly to our pristine fiords.
It does pose the question though, if large multi-national companies with legal, H&S, and complaince departments, along with underwriters, international complaince and survey standards and regular third party inspection regimes along with substantial financial resources can't meet NZ Bio-security requirements, how does MPI and the various disparate councils think recreational boat owners will be able to?
Then those govt agencies take out all the ingredients that work from antifoul. Then increase compliance costs for every hard stand in the country so over half of them close, make it physically impossible to get an RC for new piles for drying out, ban cleaning of marine organisms on piles, oh, and ban in water cleaning by divers, esp in marinas.
So how do they expect anyone to comply with the requirements? There is even a full page ad in the Jan issue of Boating NZ spelling out the problem.
Pop Quiz time. We now have these 4 definitions of fouling LO1 to LO4. You aren't allowed to clean anything in the water greater than LO2 I think (light slime). So if you have a small number of barnacles, you aren't allowed to clean in the water. Given the long wait times for haul outs, what do you do? leave them for 3 months to grow some more...
The question is, what is the actual problem with cleaning in the water? I'm not talking leaving a whole mussle farm lying under the piles, where no-one else can use the piles cause of the mess, but that is a reasonable example. Mussles are good for the marine environment, so if you have mussles on your hull, why do you have to remove them from the water? Fan worm is already everywhere, so no benefit in removing the small number on your hull from the water.
I get you shouldn't sail 100nm to some nice island and clean loads of shit off your hull. But if you are on your regular mooring / marina, why can't you go for a dive, get all the organisms off, then go out to the Gulf Islands or other important areas (Poor Knights, BoI etc) with a good clean hull?
Its about stopping / slowing the spread, not eradicating the shit...
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Post by em on Jan 13, 2023 11:16:56 GMT 12
What is the logic behind the new restrictions on in the water cleaning ?
Before the bio pest thing the restriction on cleaning on the grid was about preventing antifoul ending up on the seabed but it was ok to clean your boat in the water .
So is it about releasing paint into the water giving it a clean on the mooring ? or about releasing organisms that are already in the bloody water at your mooring/berth ?
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Post by armchairadmiral on Jan 13, 2023 12:50:47 GMT 12
All part of the power and control thing. In parts of Europe I've been told anti fouling paint is banned and they dry sail. Easy to remove the masses then ping the wealthy. There is no logic...just p & c. Think about it. In marina the bio's leech ,the barnacles/slime grow along with everything else so all you are doing is returning them to the environment from whence they came so it can't be that bad. Return the marina from whence it came and all that will still be there. It's like cc ,covid lockdown etc. All bs.
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Post by Cantab on Jan 13, 2023 13:36:00 GMT 12
You can send the cleaning bills to Taunui head office, tell them it was clean when you put it in their water, just claiming compensation.
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Post by OLD ROPE π on Jan 13, 2023 14:57:45 GMT 12
Yeah i get the sounds thing but aren't our harbours just as vulnerable?... Get a bug in Lyttleton and sail to Fiordland?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2023 16:42:53 GMT 12
It was all documented a week ago on the TV news.The issue being most have been laid up and the industry is bouyant,not enough time or docks booked out so unable to do the clean off.
Good on MPI for making a stand but the next should be.Use the navy and meet to all ships at economic zone and tag out all sea cocks and check again once in port,bilge water/ballast is a major issue.What else would the navy be doing???
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Post by Fogg on Jan 13, 2023 16:45:47 GMT 12
Cruise ships will stop coming here as NZ becomes βtoo hardβ. And another nail goes into the coffin of the NZ economy.
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Post by fish on Jan 13, 2023 16:53:32 GMT 12
Cruise ships will stop coming here as NZ becomes βtoo hardβ. And another nail goes into the coffin of the NZ economy. I'd celebrate curse ships, sorry, cruise ships, stop coming here. I'm yet to see how they contribute to the economy. Our restaurants are closing for lack of staff, so how can extremely variable demand help that? Can't see what they contribute. The extension of your statement is the main shipping lines. Freight costs are a major issues, both inbound and outbound. NZ isn't big enough for its own freight lines. Shipping lines dropping NZ would be economic disaster.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2023 17:11:41 GMT 12
Cruise ships and Chinese tourist its all the same. Buy a package ,go on a tour Rotorua etc. Guides get bus to stop at certain shops for the kick back.Tourist spend fuck all .
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Post by fish on Jan 13, 2023 18:36:06 GMT 12
Anyone remember pre covid how AT would close the ferry basin during rush-hour so that the Cruise Ships could park? All the ferries would have to stand off, or were just cancelled. I always thought keeping all of those productive workers (commuters) stuck on the water couldn't have been very good for the economy.
Not to mention anyone trying to catch a ferry to Devonport when a ship was in. I think the Chinese owned trinket shops at the bottom of Queen St did well, and maybe some of the homeless people around that end of town.
We drove through Quay St for the first time in forever last weekend. Noted the architectural detail on the imported car parking building on the waterfront. Saw a cruise ship. My son asked why the people were sleeping in cardboard boxes on the footpath. Very educational wee detour.
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Post by Fogg on Jan 13, 2023 18:57:03 GMT 12
The last estimate I saw said that each cruise ship that berthed in Auckland dumped average of $1m into the downtown economy from big-walleted tourists. That was for just 1 day ie for the ships that arrived at dawn and departed at dinner time.
That spend has got to be welcomed by the NZ hospitality and retail sectors. And whilst itβs seasonal the demand peaks are highly predictable with each shipβs arrival date & time known way in advance.
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