DCN September Edition 2019

News in brief
Full details at thedcn.com.au
IMO secretary-general says transport
essential to sustainable future
IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim
IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim
addressed an industry group in Sydney
in support of the IMO’s 2019 theme
“Empowering women in the maritime
community”.
It was the first time that an IMO
secretary-general had visited Australia.
Kitack Lim was in Sydney at the invitation
of the Australian Maritime Safety
Authority.
While he believes the shipping industry
has “much to be proud about” and is now
“safer and more secure than ever before”,
Mr Lim said the industry was focused on
helping the United Nations achieve its 2030
agenda for sustainable development.
“The 2030 agenda… will only be
realised with a sustainable transport sector
including shipping,” Mr Lim said.
“I am very pleased that the IMO theme
this year is… empowering women in the
maritime community,” he said, adding that
this aligns with Sustainable Development
Goal 5: Gender Equality.
According to the UN, “gender equality
is not only a fundamental human right,
but a necessary foundation for a peaceful,
prosperous and sustainable world”.
“To celebrate the IMO theme we are
undertaking a range of initiatives such as…
a social media campaign,” Mr Lim said.
He spoke about the IMO’s impending
2020 fuel sulphur regulation, which will
see a limit on the sulphur content of
bunker fuel lowered to a maximum of 0.5%
from January 1, 2020.
“I have worked hard with member
states and industry to support the
implementation of this important global
initiative which will have a far-reaching
beneficial impact on the human race,”
Mr Lim said.
RAIL OPERATOR CALLS FOR END TO FREIGHT ACCESS CHARGES
Pacific National CEO Dean Dalla Valle says excessive
government charges applied to rail freight services and a buildup
of red tape is suffocating the haulage of goods between
Australia’s two biggest cities.
Mr Dalla Valle said less than 1% of 20m tonnes of palletised and
containerised freight transported between Melbourne and Sydney
is now hauled by trains.
The Australian government taxes operators like Pacific National
an ‘access charge’ to run freight trains on railways. Current access
charges do not account for extensive taxpayer funding of roads
(and hence support for trucks) compared to significant commercial
demands on rail freight.
Pacific National calculated access costs of hauling a 20-foot
container between Melbourne and Sydney by a freight train or
B-double to be $94 and $55, respectively.
“In terms of accessing the freight corridor between Melbourne
and Sydney, that’s a massive 70% cost penalty for rail – this rips the
guts out of our industry,” Mr Dalla Valle said.
KDS Photographics; Eskinder Debebe
10 September 2019
thedcn.com.au