Reef pilot system blasted in govt report

A FEDERAL government report has heavily criticised the safety systems for ships piloted through the Great Barrier Reef.

Following a 12-month investigation, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found no organisation was clearly responsible for managing the safety risks of piloting ships through the reef and nearby Torres Strait.

Under federal maritime law, all ships are required to use licensed pilots to navigate through certain sections of the reef.

The ATSB found major under-reporting of near miss collision and grounding events, and fatigue among pilots was a serious risk.

Australian Reef Pilots chief executive Simon Meyjes says his company has already addressed most of the major concerns underlined in the report, such as creating an industry-wide passage plan.

"These are things that were not unknown to us and that we've been working co-operatively with the regulator for many years now," he told AAP.

Mr Meyjes said he could not accept the report's suggestion that major safety incidents were going unreported.

"We actively encourage incident reporting and if there was ever an incident which went unreported, we've got a disciplinary process in place to correct that," he said.

Similarly, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it had "taken action in response to all of the issues identified".

Greens Senator Larissa Waters said any systemic safety failure would be "unacceptable".

"Australians are deeply concerned that the Great Barrier Reef is becoming a coal and gas highway, and even one ship spill could spell disaster for the reef," she told AAP.

Meanwhile, a Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation report suggested the number of coal ships visiting the state's coast would be less than 40 per cent of the figure used by environmental group Greenpeace.

Greenpeace campaigner Georgina Woods said the total number of ships was only one part of the issue.

"The spin by the coal industry is missing the point. If you have a beautiful masterpiece, a gorgeous painting like Monet's Water Lilies, you can't zoom into a small piece of it and say 'we can cut that piece out' and manage that impact," Ms Woods told AAP.

The ATSB says it expects about 9400 ships to travel through the Great Barrier Reef in the year 2020.

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