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Chief officer and owner of the 'Iron Gate' convicted and fined in Australia for dumping trash

The chief officer and owner of the 'Iron Gate' were convicted and fined in Australia for dumping trash overboard. While the fines were small dollar amounts, Australian authorities said it was the principle of dumping trash into protected waters and that it would send a broader message of the shipping industry. The incident dates to 2018, when the bulk carrier was on a voyage between Brisbane and Gladstone. According to AMSA, the chief officer approved the discharge of garbage overboard about 13 nautical miles south-east of Lady Elliot Island, an area within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Australian waters. The Brisbane Magistrates Court convicted the ship’s chief officer for the dumping incident. The food waste that was dumped overboard was said to have been the equivalent of a 30-gallon household garbage can. The fine was approximately US$5,000. Under Australia’s Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983, food waste cannot be discharged within 12 nautical miles seaward of the boundary of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.