Red tape forces Brisbane’s Q Sand North to stop using its Darra vessel and lay off 13 workers

The boss of a Brisbane dredging firm has labelled it “bureaucracy gone mad” after he was forced to lay off staff because his vessels can’t get safety checks.

Senex managing director Ian Davies. Picture: James Elsby

ALL AT SEA

Big name construction businesses including the Wagners, Boral and Hansen could be short of a vital building material in the coming weeks because of what one City Beat spy has described as “bureaucracy gone mad.”

Brisbane’s Q Sand North says it expected to cease using its sand dredging vessel Darra at midnight on Tuesday and to lay off 13 workers after the Australia Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it would not extend an exemption from a mandated safety check for the vessel even though there are no dry-dock facilities currently available to carry it out.

Q Sand North wants to retire the 54-year-old Darra and replace it with its new vessel the Steel Hauler. However that also will require a safety check at the Colmslie slipway that has been shut down since July. The drydock won’t reopen for at least another month and Covid-19 restrictions for interstate travel mean that Q Sand North cannot head south for a check.

The Darra heading out to Moreton Bay

Q Sand North chief executive Warren McKay says he is only asking for an exemption for the Darra to continue working for another eight weeks until the slipway reopens and the Steel Hauler can be approved.

“We’re only asking for common sense at this time because 13 Queenslanders are about to be out of work simply because of red tape,” McKay says. “There will also be an impact for the construction industry at a time when material shortages are being experienced across the board. We need some flexibility in this situation.

Covid has had impacts everywhere and we need regulators to understand that they have to be flexible.” Q Sand North has a tenement in Spitfire Channel, between Moreton Bay and Bribie Island, and dredges sand seven days a week with a crew of six going out on each journey, bringing back sand to be used for customers including Wagners, Boral and Hansen.

Ironically, McKay says he could easily find a loophole to his dilemma by flagging the Steel Hauler in a foreign country. “I could do that but I’m Australian. We employ Australians. I don’t want to take some backdoor route,” he says.

An AMSA spokesperson said the operator of Q Sand North had met with the regulator numerous times earlier this year regarding both the Darra and Steel Hauler, with the company advising that the Darra would cease operations on October 19.

An application for exemption has been received and would be considered in accordance with AMSA’s usual processes. “The Steel Hauler remains uncertified and requires dry docking before any certification can be considered by AMSA,” the spokesperson said.

“Out of water inspections are an important certification requirement so AMSA can ensure the safe operation of all domestic commercial vessels.”

RICH GAS DEAL

Senex Energy boss Ian Davies and business identity Bob Bryan are set to pocket almost $4m each from their holdings in the gas company if a $836m takeover offer from South Korea’s Posco International gets the green light.

Posco has offered $4.40 share, meaning Davies will collect $3.5m from his 809,0000 shares while Bryan, who holds 875,000 shares, will earn $3.85m.

To be honest, that’s probably chump change for richlister Bryan who made his break in business almost four decades ago when he sold his Mt Leyshon gold mines to Robert de Crespigny for an estimated $60m.

The 87-year-old later went onto a successful career in property investment before making a big bet on Queensland Gas which he sold for about $100m to BG Group in 2008.

Senex Energy chief executive Ian Davies could cash in.

Bryan has alway been a big backer of Senex predicting years ago there would be considerable gas shortages in Australia in the future.

JPMorgan analysts have described Posco’s offer as “fair, but not full” meaning the payout could be increased. But JP Morgan also have flagged possible opposition from the Foreign Investment Review Board given Senex represents 4 per cent of east coast gas demand. Senex shares closed 6 cents higher on Tuesday at $4.45.

WAYNE’S WORLD

They seek him here, they seek him there but Wayne Cullen, a former rugby league champion and boss of the failed Cullen building group was a bit of a Scarlet Pimpernel yesterday for liquidators. Cullen was a no-show at a Federal Court court examination into the $45m collapse of his building empire in 2016.

He had been scheduled to appear via video link in the Federal Court at 9am as part of the examination by liquidator Michael Caspaney, with the court setting aside the whole day for his evidence.

Wayne Cullen of Cullen Group Australia.

But barrister for the liquidator Edward Moon informed registrar Susan O’Connor that Cullen had indicated he could not attend the examination and “needed 14 days notice.”

Mr Moon said Mr Cullen had been summoned in August and was aware of the dates he would be required to appear before the court.

Subbies and other suppliers lost more than $45m following the collapse of Cullen Group just before Christmas 2016. No doubt they are looking forward to his evidence now scheduled for Friday.