Ross River’s Lady Jane to be one of the first vessels removed under new tranche of program funding

Abandoned fishing vessel The Lady Jane will be one of the first boats removed as part of a revived program to clean up waterways.

The Lady Jane will be one of the first vessels recovered after the Crisafulli Government allocated $15 million dollars to the Keeping Our Waterways Safe program.

The Lady Jane, a fishing vessel which has sat abandoned in the Ross River for three to four years, will be one of the first boats cleaned up under the state government’s revived Keeping Our Waterways Safe Program.

Initially an initiative of the previous Labor Government, $15 million dollars was allocated in the budget by the Crisafulli Government over the next three years to keep the effort going.

“This is all about ensuring that, one we remove wrecks where they’re particularly environmental or a safety hazard,” Transport and Main Roads Minister Brent Mickelberg said.

“But also ensuring we drive greater accountability for owners of these vessels that are frequently abandoned, and for far too long we haven’t seen accountability go to the owner.”

The state government is also intent on expanding the ways that authorities can respond in the event of an abandoned vessel or similar.

“So that might mean maybe legislative change, It may be changes with respect to how Maritime Safety Queensland enforce the existing legislative framework,” Mr Mickelberg said.

“There are some challenges in that area, so it will likely require legislative change which we are working with Maritime Safety Queensland to advance.”

To date, 1,740 vessels have been removed from Queensland through the program, and the cost can vary from $20,000 up to $100,000 due to the size, complexity and location of the vessel.

The Lady Jane will be one of the first vessels recovered after the Crisafulli Government allocated $15 million dollars to the Keeping Our Waterways Safe program.

General Manager of Maritime Safety Queensland, Kell Dillon, said the removal of the Lady Jane is set to be a complex job because of the condition it is.

“So they’re not easy to remove, we run the risk of the vessel breaking in half when you’re trying to pull them out of the water,” he said.

“So it will be a combination of different techniques to get that vessel out of the water intact, and it will be taken to a landshore disposal unit where it will be broken up for disposal.”

Maritime Safety does try to locate the owner of any vessel, sometimes they can be hard to find. Some owners are found and do remove the vessel from the water.

“A lot of it is about traceability and accountability which follows from that, if we can find the owner, then absolutely we hold them responsible,” Mr Dillon said.

“Out of that 1,740 vessels that we’ve removed, 700-odd were removed by the owners, or repaired by the owners to an acceptable state, and a thousand or so the state had to intervene, but we do chase the owners through the courts to reimburse the state.”

Maritime Safety have been in touch with the owner of the Lady Jane during the time the boat has been in the water.

“In the end we had to intervene to make sure the vessel is removed from the waters, but we will be chasing that owner up through the courts for reimbursement of the state’s cost,: Mr Dillon said.

Lady Jane is expected to be removed this week.

Originally published as Ross River’s Lady Jane to be one of the first vessels removed under new tranche of program funding