DRY BULK SURVEYS & COMPLIANCE SERVICES
Australia moves serious tonnage. Western Australia Iron Ore Ports alone pushes north of 800 MTPA and sees upwards of 9,000 bulkers — a number that still catches people off guard the first time they see it.
On the East Coast, Newcastle and Queensland's coal and Bauxite terminals account for another 450–480 MTPA between them. The Great Barrier Reef sees upwards of 3,000 bulk carrier transits every year, many of them capesizes threading through a corridor that leaves precious little margin for error.
These aren't abstract market statistics. They're the operational backdrop — the actual conditions — against which every draught survey, hold inspection and cargo dispute in this part of the world plays out.
We know this trade. Handysizes, supramaxes, panamaxes, capesizes. Australian ports, DAFF Biosecurity on the wharf, terminals loading at 12,000 tonnes an hour with a port authority that won't wait. Thirty-odd years of it.
Ports Regulatory Compliance
Bulkcarriers Services
Vessels loading or discharging at Australian bulk terminals operate inside a regulatory framework that leaves very little room for improvisation — and none at all for ignorance.
AMSA Marine Orders Parts 32 , 33 and 34 govern cargo handling, equipment standards and solid bulk cargoes respectively.
The DAFF's Biosecurity enforces its own inspection regime on top of that, particularly for agricultural and fertiliser cargoes.
Getting it wrong isn't just a fine. It's a cargo rejection, a berth delay, or a vessel held while a shipment rots or a charter party implodes.
We help operators understand what's required before they berth — not after the DAFF officer is already on the gangway.
Hold Preparation — Pre-load & Pre-discharge Advisory : Sensitive bulk cargoes — fertilisers, magnesia, alumina, chemical grades — demand holds that are genuinely clean and dry.
Not visually acceptable. Not "close enough." Genuinely fit for purpose as DAFF defines it. "Hospital Grade" clean
Our pre-load advisory service is built around what Biosecurity officers will actually be looking for when they board — the specific documentation requirements, the hold presentation standards, the common failure points that catch operators out.
We identify deficiencies, produce a clear remediation schedule, and give the crew a fighting chance of passing first time. Pre-discharge advisory mirrors that process in reverse — ensuring stevedore requirements, terminal documentation, and port authority obligations are in order before lines go ashore.
Condition Surveys
Our condition surveys are structured as formal risk assessments — not clipboard walk-arounds dressed up as inspections. Methodology draws on P&I guidelines and cross-referenced maritime database searches, benchmarking each vessel against fleet and flag-state standards and producing a score that actually means something to underwriters, charterers, and vetting departments.
Where we've moved well ahead of traditional surveying methods is in remote inspection technology.
Cargo hold internal coatings, structural integrity, corrosion mapping, hatch cover condition, ballast tanks, anchors, fairleads, chains — areas that once required scaffolding, confined space entry procedures and considerable time — are now inspected with precision and documented properly.