Maritime securityNew Australian visa requirements for foreign maritime crew
Australia tightens maritime security: All nonmilitary foreign ship crew members — some 130,000 of them every year — now require a visa to enter Australia; nonmilitary ships include commercial vessels such as cargo vessels, cruise ships, and fishing vessels, and public or government scientific vessels
Shipowners, charterers, and their various agents will be affected by new requirements for non-Australian crew entering Australia. The Maritime Crew Visa (MCV), which came into effect on 1 July 2007, will apply to all foreign crew (except New Zealanders and Australian permanent visa holders) working on board nonmilitary vessels on international voyages entering Australia. Nonmilitary vessels include commercial vessels such as cargo vessels, cruise ships, and fishing vessels, and public or government scientific vessels.
About 130,000 foreign crew travel to Australia each year by sea, about 90 percent as crew of cargo ships and the rest as crew of passenger ships.
