Why are ships allowed to travel in the inner Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area?
The underlying principle guiding shipping movements worldwide is that ‘any vessel may not be denied its right of innocent passage’ United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982. This means that nations such as Australia will generally allow vessels to transit its territorial waters. However in recognition of the environmental sensitivity of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, the International Maritime Organisation, the shipping industries governing body, declared the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area in 1990. This declaration allows the Australian Government to implement initiatives to manage the environmental impact of shipping activities on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Most mariners prefer the inner route between the mainland and the outer reef as it is protected, well charted and marked with navigational aids. This makes this route less hazardous and therefore less likely for incident, than the outer route.
