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New Zealand authorities have barred a British adventurer setting off from these shores to row around Antarctica, but taxpayers will still have to pick up the tab if he needs rescuing when he sets out from Australia.
Oliver Hicks expects to leave Hobart within days to circumnavigate Antarctica
in a high-tech fibreglass boat, a 24,000km solo journey expected to take 500 days.
Mr Hicks changed his launch site after Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) refused permission, deeming the journey too dangerous. Under the Maritime Transport Act 1994, MNZ has the necessary powers but Tasmanian officials do not.
MNZ and Marine and Safety Tasmania (Mast) have tried to dissuade the 27-year-old from making the voyage, as they are concerned about his safety and the high cost of rescue.
If Mr Hicks runs into trouble in the Southern Ocean, MNZ's Rescue Coordination Centre is responsible for him. Rescue missions in the region are "extremely difficult" because of the scarcity of ships or aircraft.
MNZ spokesman Ross Henderson said the hostile Southern Ocean made capsize almost inevitable.
"The risks inherent in Mr Hicks' proposed voyage are substantial and the likelihood of rescue being required is significant. In MNZ's view, the proposal posed an extreme risk to Mr Hicks' safety."
Tasmanian police and Mast did not think they could stop Mr Hicks, although they strongly advised him against going.
Mr Hicks told the Sydney Morning Herald he was daunted by the adventure, but was confident of the safety of his boat, The Flying Carrot.
MNZ was more sceptical. Mr Henderson said trans-ocean rowing voyages were not new - many had been made in lower latitudes. However, the mostly 55-degree south latitudes of his Antarctica adventure were a far more dangerous prospect.
Mr Hicks was the youngest person to row an ocean solo, and the first to row solo from America to Britain.
His blog said he was making the Antarctica voyage to emulate "old fashioned explorers" and small-boat adventurers like Ernest Shackleton.
He said the row fulfilled all his criteria - it was of a long duration, had never been achieved before, and was "extraordinarily difficult".
He had his appendix removed as a precaution, and plans to survive on dehydrated food and multivitamins.
Failed solo journeys in the past decade amplify MNZ's warnings. In 1999 Joe Le Groen attempted to row from Chile to New Zealand, but was rescued by a container ship and hospitalised.
In 2005, Jim Shekdar set off for Cape Horn but failed twice, eventually being rescued at high cost by Niwa research ship Tangaroa.
Veteran Australian sea-kayaker Andrew McAuley drowned off the New Zealand coast in February 2007.
