Ship Reporting

IMO has ratified a compulsory ship reporting system proposed by the Australian and Papua New Guinea Governments for the Great Barrier Reef the operation of which commenced on 1 January 1997.

All ships entering the Great Barrier Reef including Torres Strait, the Inner Route and the GNEC are obliged to periodically report their positions to 'Reef Centre' at Hay Point. Please note our GNEC pilot boarding ground at Dalrymple Island lies west of the Bramble Cay in the GNEC.

If required our pilots will assist masters with compliance to the SRS.

REEFREP (SRS) Reporting Instructions Summary

Ships are required to make their first REEFREP report and commence participation in the SRS system either:

on departing the following Queensland ports; OR	if not departing a port, on reaching the first SRS reporting point en route e.g.
Hay Point	High Peak
Mackay	Blossom
Cid Harbour	Palm Passage
Abbot Point Townsville	Grafton Passage
Lucinda	Bramble
Mourilyan	Daru
Cairns	Booby
Cape Flattery	Endeavour
Thursday Island

At the first SRS reporting point a full REEFREP is required.

Identify, Ship Type, Position, Track, Speed, Draft, Cargo, Coastal Pilot details, Any damage, defects, limitations, deficiencies.

However, because of the AUSREP/REEFREP interface arrangements, if the ship has already submitted an AUSREP SP for that voyage the ship will normally only need to:

	Identify itself to the SRS;
	Report its location and the next mandatory reporting point it is heading for, and ETA at or speed to that point;
	Confirm that there are no changes to the information already provided; or alternatively
	Report any changes or additional information relevant to the voyage through the SRS area

Following the first report to the SRS, further position report are required at each subsequent mandatory reporting point and in any case at intervals not exceeding 12 hours - see over.

For the effective operation of the system it is also a requirement to report to the SRS if the ship:

	Deviates significantly from its track reported on the last REEFREP;
	Alters its speed significantly, for reasons other than normal course and or speed alterations under the Colregs.

Safety related reports and reports of incidents involving Dangerous Goods, Harmful Substances and/or Marine Pollutants must be made to the SRS without delay.

A surface picture of all reported shipping operations in the SRS area is maintained in the SRS center ("REEFCENTER") at Hay Point. The SRS shipping plot is built up from:

	Radio reports from ships;
	The use of automatic identification systems;
	Data obtained from the SRS radar sites
	Report any changes or additional information relevant to the voyage through the SRS area; Hay Point, Penrith Island, Green Island, Hammond Island and Sue Island

The master must ensure that the information required by the SRS is reported to "REEFCENTER" on the designated SRS VHF working frequency for the particular location.