In this edition
Proposed changes to operational safety requirements
We are seeking your feedback on a range of proposed changes to Marine Order 504, which contains certificate of operation and operational requirements for domestic commercial vessels.
The proposed changes include requirements for crewing arrangements and the inclusion of lifejacket wear in your vessel’s safety management system.
Find out more.
Help shape international requirements for fishing gear marking and reporting
According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), by 2050, the quantity of plastics in the oceans will outweigh fish.
As part of efforts to reduce the amount of plastic litter ending up in our oceans from vessels, the IMO is planning global mandatory requirements for marking fishing gear and expanding reporting requirements for lost and discharged fishing gear. To inform this work, we want to know what you think about:
- mandatory marking of fishing gear, and
- reporting of lost or discharged fishing gear.
Learn more and tell us what you think.
Have your say—preventing pollution from anti-fouling chemicals
We are updating our regulations in relation to the International Maritime Organization’s ban on the chemical cybutryne in vessels’ anti-fouling systems.
Find out more and have your say.
Have your say—on our performance as a regulator
We continually assess our regulatory performance so we can better support safe vessel operations and combat marine pollution – and we would like to hear from you. Please fill out a short survey and to help us improve our practices. The survey will take about 2 minutes to complete.
Complete the survey now.
Changes to domestic certificates of competency
After extensive consultation with industry in recent years, we have developed a nationally consistent and simplified qualifications framework for people working on domestic commercial vessels.
A revised Marine Order 505 (Certificates of competency) comes into effect on 1 January 2023, providing national consistency, improved qualification pathways, and better safety outcomes for industry.
Major changes include the introduction of five new certificates of competency (CoCs or ‘tickets’) and the phasing out of three old CoCs and a number of exemptions (transitional arrangements are in place – see our website for more information).
The revised Marine Order 505 will also include clarified supervisory definitions for operational contexts where a General Purpose Hand CoC is required, a new standard for medical fitness has been introduced, and changes to sea service requirements.
What do you need to know?
Most National System (AMSA-issued) CoC holders can continue to work as normal and won’t notice any changes to their CoC. We are contacting people who need to transition to a new CoC under the revised Marine Order 505.
We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition to the new Marine Order 505.
Further detail is available on our website.
Specific information about the new CoCs.
Avoiding accidental activations of float-free EPIRBS
In 2021 there was nearly one accidental or ‘inadvertent’ activation of a float-free EPIRB on a commercial vessel every week, largely due to incorrect installation of these important life saving devices.
Inadvertent activations waste critical and finite search and rescue resources who are then unavailable to respond to real distress situations.
How can you avoid accidental activations?
If you remove an EPIRB from its float-free housing, and then place the EPIRB back in there at a later date – maybe just before you leave port – make sure you have it correctly aligned with the magnet inside the housing, exactly as per the manufacturer’s guideline.
Avoid high pressure hosing activities around these devices as well, as this can also cause damage or dislodgement of the EPIRB inside the float-free housing and result in an inadvertent activation.
And lastly, always keep your beacon’s registration details up-to-date. If we detect your beacon, in the first instance we will always attempt to contact you using the mobile or satellite phone number associated with the beacon’s registration.
Beacon registration is free and easy, just jump online.
Consultation feedback report is now available—amendments to National Law Regulations and cost recovery
Between 14 - 30 October 2022, we consulted on the cost recovery arrangements for implementing Marine Order 505 (MO505). This included the cost recovery implementation statement (CRIS) and amendments to the National Law Regulations to support the smooth implementation of MO505. We received a total of 11 submissions during the consultation period.
Read the full report.
Supporting seafarer welfare—the DCN Maritime and Shipping Awards 2022
Congratulations to Catherine Hindley of Wave Shipping, who received the Seafarers Welfare Award at the DCN Shipping and Maritime Industry Awards 2022.
This award recognises the commitment of a company to the mental, physical and pastoral welfare of seafarers. AMSA proudly sponsored the Seafarer Welfare Award again this year, together with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
Read more about the winner.
Marine notice update—Oil Record Book
We have issued an updated marine notice providing guidance on the recording of operations in the Oil Record Book Part I.
Find out more by reading Marine Notice 2022/13.
October 2022 marine incident report
The latest incident report shows there were 67 reported incidents involving domestic commercial vessels. Of these, 10 were serious. We publish the incident report monthly and the information is broken down by state, vessel type and a description of the incident.
Read the full report.
Safety lessons from marine incident investigation
This month’s safety lessons report examines how risky behaviour of a group of passengers, led to a person overboard without a lifejacket.
Every month we share an overview of a domestic commercial vessel incident investigation and the safety lesson you can learn to prevent a similar incident occurring on board your vessel.
Read the safety lesson.
