Shipping company and chief officer convicted for dumping garbage in Great Barrier Reef
Following a prosecution by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), on Friday 26 February 2021, the chief officer and company of a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier were fined and convicted in the Brisbane Magistrates Court for dumping the equivalent of a 120-litre household garbage bin full of food waste into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, according to AMSA's release.
In 2018, Iron Gate was on a voyage between Brisbane and Gladstone when the chief officer approved the discharge of garbage overboard about 24 kilometres (13 nautical miles) south-east of Lady Elliot Island – well within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Australian waters.
Under the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983, food waste cannot be discharged within 22 kilometres (12 nautical miles) seaward of the boundary of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.