The Australian Marine Safety Safety Authority has published new guidelines for complex maritime emergencies. As they stress, complex maritime emergencies are a persistent threat to the global maritime environment, and those who work on and by the sea.
We are periodically reminded of this threat by seemingly-random, catastrophic events ranging from collisions to offshore spills and even the loss of aircraft in remote areas.
AMSA recognises that in order to be truly effective in the management of complex maritime emergencies, we must work in a coordinated and collaborative fashion with numerous partners and stakeholders—many who bring advanced understanding of the operational environment, and many who do not.
This handbook has been designed to provide leaders with cross-jurisdictional, multi-cross-sectoral framework and conceptual guidance for managing complex maritime emergencies.
If applied consistently, the frameworks and concepts within this handbook will provide the following benefits to managing complex maritime emergencies:
– Expanded and expedited access to more or specialised resources not available locally in order to sustain recovery assistance, adapt to community needs, reduce the potential of compounding stressors and enhance the efficiency of recovery efforts.
– Improved access to information, experts and specialist advice to support evidence-based planning, response and recovery systems.
– Reduced risks of duplication, red tape and inefficiencies across coordinated programs.
– Clearer understanding of multi-jurisdictional issues requiring management and consideration.
– Improved inter-organisational response through the coordination of multiple governance arrangements.
– Improved public communications to enhance confidence and minimise misinformation.
– A clearer view of event impacts and corresponding community needs, to inform national prioritisation and resource allocation responses.
– Minimisation of suffering for impacted individuals, communities, infrastructure and environments.
We ask that you continue to work with us as we invest in preparing ourselves, and Australia, to manage a new era of complexity in emergency management in the maritime environment. Further, we invite you to invest in adopting this guidance and working with us to refine it over time to best reflect the practices we know are most effective, efficient and aligned with our national values and interests.
Read the report in full here
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