Professional fishermen are refusing to support a $15 million project to remove 60 containers lost from the YM Efficiency because of concerns about further pollution and damage to the marine environment.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The clean-up operation is due to start in March after the Australian Maritime and Safety Authority awarded the salvage contract to Sydney-based Ardent Oceania.
The project involves using remote underwater vehicles to encase the containers and their contents into a custom-built metal basket, which will be lifted onto a salvage vessel.
AMSA says it was forced to organise the clean-up because Yang Ming and insurer Britannia P&I refused to undertake the operation, arguing the containers and their contents do not constitute pollution. But Yang Ming's Australian representative, Aus Ship Lawyers & Correspondents, says it has committed significant resources to the clean up.
AMSA says it will pursue the company in court if it refuses to pay for the clean-up.
The Professional Fishermen's Association, which in November 2018 said that removal of the containers was "the only option to ensure safety" because of the large area they were spread over, said this week it was not satisfied with the proposed method of removal.
In a letter to local politicians, the association's chief executive Patricia Beatty wrote: "The Professional Fishermen's Association and the Commercial Fishermen's Cooperative Limited are also concerned about the structural integrity of the containers due to the significant delay taken in their removal and no longer have faith in the success of a removal operation," Ms Beatty wrote on Thursday.
"The PFA and CFCL and their members have been provided little information regarding the removal modelling or tender discussions and remain unconvinced of its ability to create a safe environment for the fishers to work in or around."
The industry is also calling for a compensation package for future claims related to damage caused by the containers.
"We do not have the resources to begin a court case for future individual losses," Ms Beatty said.
In response, an AMSA spokeswoman said it had worked with all stakeholders to achieve the best possible outcome.
"Local fishermen have raised numerous concerns in the past about the impact of the containers on their fishing operations including reports of "hook ups" of their nets on containers. AMSA has worked to get the insurers to locate and identify as many containers as possible," she said.
The spokeswoman said AMSA had met with fishers on numerous occasions.
"Last week AMSA offered to meet with fishers again to brief them about the impending contract and its finer details. That meeting offer was postponed and both the Professional Fishermen's Association and Commercial Fishermen's Co-Op have requested a briefing in late January and arrangements are being made for that," she said.
AMSA believes Yang Ming should compensate local fishers, however, it was unable to pursue this compensation on their behalf, the spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman said the modelling indicated that, given the depth of the containers, the sand is regularly turned over and any hole left behind by the containers would fill in a short period of time.
"AMSA is confident that the recovery method proposed by Ardent Oceania will prevent further spread of pollution but will of course review this approach if necessary," she said.
An Aus Ship Lawyers & Correspondents spokesman said it had also engaged with and supported affected stakeholders from the day the containers were lost.
"We reject any notion that we have shirked responsibility and have dedicated significant resources towards limiting the impact on both the fishermen and locals on the beach," a spokesman said.
"AMSA in going ahead with this project against the wishes of local fishermen and without releasing details of how they intend to address scientific submissions that the removal process could result in the release of plastics into the water column and beaches."
Port Stephens MP Kate Washington urged AMSA to work with stakeholders to achieve a satisfactory outcome.
"I don't believe doing nothing is a solution. It is however, an outcome the ship's insurer would very much like," she said.
"But it's important that the job is done properly so that fishers can work without hindrance and the ongoing pollution threat to our environment is removed. AMSA should satisfy stakeholders - especially professional fishers - that their actions will achieve the right outcome."