Non-survey fishing vessels operating in warm waters and within 2 nautical miles of land

This new equipment list is for non-survey vessels operating:

within 2 nautical miles of land - if you transit beyond 2 nm miles of land to reach your operational area this equipment list is not applicable to your vessel.
in warm waters
with a maximum significant wave height of no greater than 2.5 metres
either under Exemption 2 (certificates of survey) or Exemption 40 (class C restricted operations).

Warm waters

Waters north of Coral Bay in Western Australia, all coastal waters in the Northern Territory and Queensland, and waters north of Ballina in NSW (waters north of latitude 23.5° south on the west coast and latitude 29° south on the east coast).

View the map

Definition of 'nearest land'

'Nearest land' is the distance from land (other than a reef) as measured from the lowest astronomical tide.

New equipment list

Download this equipment list (PDF 500 KB) (PDF 448.27 KB)

Note: The safety equipment arrangements do not expand a vessel's operational area. For example, a Class 3D vessel can only operate in D waters that are within 200 metres of land with this equipment.

Portable safety equipment

Quantity	Description	Need to know
1 for each person onboard	Lifejacket – Level 150	Lifejackets must fit appropriately A lifejacket must be worn when crossing a designated coastal bar
2	Red hand-held distress flare	Comply with AS2092 and be within their expiry date
1	Orange hand-held smoke signal	Comply with AS2092 and be within their expiry date
1	Waterproof buoyant torch or lantern	Have sufficient light intensity to signal for help and be stored with spare batteries
1	V sheet marine	Fluorescent orange-red coloured sheet Not less than 1.8m x 1.2m Black letter 'V' superimposed on the middle of the sheet
Required if more than 1 person onboard	A retrieval device	At least 15m of floating rope of suitable strength attached to a device you can grab onto (e.g. end loop, hand hold etc) Device must be throwable and unlikely to injury a person in the water (e.g. throw bags, retriever slings, rescue quoit with rope)

Onboard communication

Quantity	Description	Need to know
1	One or more of the onboard communication methods must be recorded as part of your safety management system (SMS)
You must have one or more of these (not all)	VHF marine radio	The best method of contacting other vessels, but must be within a VHF operational area to use this option.
	Mobile phone (if within the coverage area)	Service dependent communication equipment for contacting a shore base or other vessels
	MF/HF Radio (approved by ACMA for maritime use)
	Satellite phone

Navigational equipment

Item	Quantity	Description	Need to know	3C*, 3C-Restricted#, 3D & 3E within 2nm of land
	1 set	Navigation lights	Only required when operating at night or for restricted visibility: 360 degree white light with port and starboard sidelights	Only required at night or for restricted visibility
	1 of each	Compass or Global Positioning System (GPS)	Minimum 75mm diameter compass card showing the cardinal points. GPS must be suitable for marine navigation, display speed and determine location	Compass + chart or an electronic navigation device
PLUS
	1 of each	Chart or map of the operational area	Must be a geographical representation of a marine area that identifies prominent shore marks and offshore islands, reefs and shoals
	1	Electronic navigation device	Only required if not equipped with a compass and a chart	Compass + chart or an electronic navigation device

Miscellaneous equipment

Quantity	Description	Need to know
1	Anchor with chain and/or rope	Sufficient holding strength for conditions and the vessel size and weight
1	Bailing bucket	Only required if the vessel is <5m or is not self-draining Bailing bucket must have attached a length of rope long enough to reach the water
See Table 2	Bilge pumps	Bilge pumps must be able to drain all bilges or closed floor compartments other than airtight voids or spaces filled with flotation. On an open vessel, the bilge system must be able to operate when the vessel is swamped

Emergency equipment

Quantity	Description	Need to know
1	First aid kit	Sufficient for the vessel’s operations based on risk assessment within the SMS. Medical supplies must be within their expiry date
2 litres per person	Emergency drinking water	A minimum of 2 litres of emergency drinking water must be provided
1	Fire blanket
1 x dry powder	Fire extinguisher	See table 1 below for size and rating

Table 1: Fire extinguishers

Type of vessel	Quantity	Size (weight)	Rating and type
Outboard vessels operating out to 2nm with ≤25 litres of portable fuel tanks	1	1kg	Fire extinguishers must have the correct size and rating in accordance with AS1799.1 1kg dry powder fire extinguisher must have a minimum rating of 20B(E) to comply with AS 1799.1 2kg dry powder fire extinguisher is recommended to have a minimum rating of 40B(E) Fire extinguishers must comply with AS/AZS 1841 and they must be serviced following AS/NZS 1851
Outboard vessels operating out to 2nm with >25 litres of fuel tanks	1	2kg

Table 2: Bilge pumps

	Manual pump or extra low voltage (ELV) pumps
Measured Length of vessel	Number	Capacity in kilolitre/hour
<5m	Bailing bucket acceptable for open boats provided the bilge is readily accessible.
<7.5m	1	4.0
≥7.5m to <12m	2	4.0

* Existing fishing vessels not required to have a certificate of survey under Exemption 02.
# New vessels not required to have a certificate of survey under Exemption 40.

Definitions

NSCV Part B (General requirements) is on AMSA's website:

Operational area category C is defined within NSCV Part B as ‘Restricted offshore operations’
Operational area category C Restricted is defined within NSCV Part B as ‘Restricted offshore operations – specified areas’
Operational area category D is defined within NSCV Part B as ‘Partially smooth water operations’
Operational area category E is defined within NSCV Part B as ‘Smooth water operations’.

Map of warm waters

The new equipment list applies to the vessels outlined above that operate in warm waters as shown in red on the map.

Warm water map stretching from the east coast of Australia from latitude 29 degrees south, to latitude 23.5 degrees south on the west cost of Australia.