Lighthouses of Australia Inc

Emergency Towage Vessel ETV Pacific Responder - Australian Maritime Safety Authority

by John Ibbotson, Lighthouse photographer and author of the Lighthouses of Australia series of books

EVT Pacific Responder leaving the wharf at Cairns Photo: John Ibbotson

The National Maritime Emergency Response Arrangement (NMERA), which is managed by AMSA, provides facilities to better protect the marine environment from actual or potential pollution resulting from a shipping incident. The EVT Pacific Responder is a dedicated vessel helping AMSA to meet this goal, working in the particularly sensitive sea areas of the Torres Strait and along the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef.

The ETV Pacific Responder is an Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) vessel that has been modified to fulfil the role as AMSA’s dedicated emergency towage vessel. AMSA has contracted Australian Maritime Systems (AMS), in conjunction with Swire Pacific Offshore, to supply and operate the ship under AMSA’s direction. The ship is flagged in Australia and crewed by Australians.

It is the only vessel of its type in Australia and is operating in Queensland between its home port of Cairns and the Torres Strait. Its major function will be to respond to any maritime casualty that may occur, such as a ship running aground or becoming disabled. It is also equipped to limit the effects of ship-sourced pollution and to assist in search and rescue tasks.

A supplemental role for the ship is to carry out maintenance for about 100 days each year, on AMSA’s aids to navigation (AtoN), including buoys. This will be achieved using a small landing barge and an 8-wheel, all terrain, amphibious vehicle. This combination is far more environmentally friendly than the LARCs that have previously been used.

The EVT Pacific Responder was commissioned at a ceremony held in Cairns on the 30th August 2006. After speeches by the Hon Warren Truss, the Federal Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Mr. Clive Davidson, AMSA’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Edward G. Anson AM, AMSA’s Chairman, and Mr. John Sugarman, Managing Director of AMS, Mrs. Truss performed the naming ceremony. After the officials and visitors had toured the ship it departed, under the command of Captain Bill Reay, on its first working voyage, bound for the Prince of Wales Channel in the Torres Strait.

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