Controversial trawler Geelong Star was caught breaching an oil rig security exclusion zone, according to recreational fishing advocate Graham Pike.
Mr Pike said he had information that the factory freezer ship “breached security in Australia’s sensitive Bass Strait oil rigs’ exclusion zone”.
When challenged on radio, Geelong Star’s skipper told security he was unaware that the ship was in an exclusion zone, Mr Pike said.
He said Geelong Star had been caught visually and on radar.
Mr Pike said a security officer was sceptical of the excuse.
“A security officer later commented: ‘Here’s the skipper of a large (95-metre) vessel sailing around within a few miles of some of the most sensitive infrastructure in Australia and he says he really doesn’t know it’s an exclusion zone.
“‘You need to ask yourself: is it really incompetence, or doesn’t he know where he is or are they testing us out to see if they can get their nets in around our oil platforms?
“‘Either way, they’re playing a dangerous game. I can’t believe that the government hasn’t pulled them up.’”
Mr Pike said Geelong Star, at that time unidentified, was visually observed passing west of Fortescue platform heading northeast about 7pm on Saturday.
“It then headed west, passing three nautical miles south of Flounder platform at about 8pm.
“The vessel, contacted by security watch on radio from one of the platforms, identified itself as the Geelong Star and ‘advised that it was not aware of the exclusion zone’.
“The Geelong Star departed the exclusion zone at about 8.30pm, heading east.”
Mr Pike said recreational fishers who inadvertently “wandered briefly” in the exclusion zone received heavy fines.
“They expect similar sanctions by the federal government for the Geelong Star,” Mr Pike said.
He said recreational fishers were already angry with the federal government and with Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) for letting Geelong Star fish in secret and kill protected marine life without any sanctions.
Geelong Star has so far killed dolphins, seals and albatross and last week had a protected whale shark entangled in its nets.
AFMA said the issue was not in its jurisdiction. The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) said it was investigating the issue.
Update:
The operator of the Fortescue and Flounder platforms had not reported an infringement of the area to be avoided or the petroleum safety zones surrounding their facilities, A NOPSEMA spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said mandatory reporting of such infringements was only triggered when a vessel was close enough to the platform to activate an emergency response plan.
