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Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

Critical supply chains and Australian maritime training requirements

Peter Court A * and Richard Owen OAM A *
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- Author Affiliations

A Offshore and Specialist Ships Australia Ltd, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.




Captain Peter Court is an experienced maritime professional in both management, technical and advocacy roles. Technical experience across the Oil and Gas, shipping, and port sectors. Management experience in Australia’s largest Oil and Gas producer, where he successfully advocated for the development of LNG as a bunker fuel project in 2012. Stakeholder engagement during the introduction of competition to pilotage by the regulator in Victoria whilst MD/Chairman of Port Phillip Sea Pilots. Advocacy work for MIAL and OSSA to highest levels of federal govt concerning Australian maritime resilience. A Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Advanced Dip Nautical Science, Unrestricted master mariner and Unrestricted marine pilot Melbourne Geelong and Corner Inlet. With relevant experience as a Maritime consultant DNV, MD/Chair Port Phillip Sea Pilots, Manager Marine operations Woodside, Founder of Court Marine. Currently a Director of Australian Overseas Marine (AOM).



Richard Owen OAM is a highly experienced international Oil and Gas executive with over 40 years in the industry. Richard held senior leadership roles with ExxonMobil in Australia, USA, Germany, and Indonesia. Richard was appointed Chairman and Lead Country Manager for ExxonMobil Australia in 2013. Richard retired from ExxonMobil in October 2020. Richard is currently serving as a director with Offshore & Specialist Ships Australia (OSSA) and as chairman of the board of HAMR Energy Pty Ltd. A Graduate of BE (Chem) 1983 University of Sydney and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Richard is the former President of the Australian Resource and Energy Employer Group (AREEA). Richard is a past board member of the Australian Energy Producers (AEP, formerly APPEA), a Fellow of Engineers Australia and the Institution of Chemical Engineers, a Life Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and an honorary life member of AEP.

Australian Energy Producers Journal 64 S57-S60 https://doi.org/10.1071/EP23155
Accepted: 3 March 2024  Published: 16 May 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of Australian Energy Producers.

Abstract

The Offshore and Specialist Ships Australia paper has focussed on two of the program themes being: access to the right skills including STEM, with STEM being a critical part of both Deck and Engineer Officer training and improving and securing supply chain connectivity. We see these two items are critical elements for the Maritime requirements of the Offshore sector for Oil and Gas export plus both construction and demobilisation of offshore facilities, pilotage of vessels and the requirement of internal maritime knowledge within organisations. The focus on this document will be twofold: Firstly, the current critical lack of qualified deck and engineer officers and how this can be rectified. The lack of domestic training has recently been identified by both Maritime Industry Australia Ltd and Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association as being at a crisis point. Secondly, the lack of an Australian strategic fleet (including a viable Australian International Shipping Register (AISR)) and the consequent vulnerability of our critical maritime export and import supply chains. We believe that both these theme items are mutually dependent and are in urgent need of the attention of both the wider energy export industry and Federal and State Governments.

Keywords: AISR, Australian shipping, energy, marine, maritime, officer, offshore wind, oil and gas, resilience, sovereignty, training.

Biographies

EP23155_B1.gif

Captain Peter Court is an experienced maritime professional in both management, technical and advocacy roles. Technical experience across the Oil and Gas, shipping, and port sectors. Management experience in Australia’s largest Oil and Gas producer, where he successfully advocated for the development of LNG as a bunker fuel project in 2012. Stakeholder engagement during the introduction of competition to pilotage by the regulator in Victoria whilst MD/Chairman of Port Phillip Sea Pilots. Advocacy work for MIAL and OSSA to highest levels of federal govt concerning Australian maritime resilience. A Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Advanced Dip Nautical Science, Unrestricted master mariner and Unrestricted marine pilot Melbourne Geelong and Corner Inlet. With relevant experience as a Maritime consultant DNV, MD/Chair Port Phillip Sea Pilots, Manager Marine operations Woodside, Founder of Court Marine. Currently a Director of Australian Overseas Marine (AOM).

EP23155_B2.gif

Richard Owen OAM is a highly experienced international Oil and Gas executive with over 40 years in the industry. Richard held senior leadership roles with ExxonMobil in Australia, USA, Germany, and Indonesia. Richard was appointed Chairman and Lead Country Manager for ExxonMobil Australia in 2013. Richard retired from ExxonMobil in October 2020. Richard is currently serving as a director with Offshore & Specialist Ships Australia (OSSA) and as chairman of the board of HAMR Energy Pty Ltd. A Graduate of BE (Chem) 1983 University of Sydney and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Richard is the former President of the Australian Resource and Energy Employer Group (AREEA). Richard is a past board member of the Australian Energy Producers (AEP, formerly APPEA), a Fellow of Engineers Australia and the Institution of Chemical Engineers, a Life Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and an honorary life member of AEP.

References

Department of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development (2023) Strategic fleet taskforce. Available at https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/establishing-a-strategic-maritime-fleet-of-australian-vessels-mcphee-freight.pdf [accessed 6 February 2024]

OSSA (2022) Maritime Careers Mind Map. Available at https://www.canva.com/design/DAEHSAbIUrc/view?embed [accessed 28 February 2024]

UNCTAD (2022) Review of Maritime Transport. Available at https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/rmt2022_en.pdf [accessed 4 February 2024]