On 28 July 1988, the livestock carrier Al Qurain struck a wharf heavily while berthing in Portland, Victoria and severely ruptured a side fuel tank. An estimated 184 tonnes of fuel oil escaped into Portland Harbour.

In the early afternoon of 30 May 2022, a hire and drive sailing catamaran began to take on water before sinking shortly after departing the marina. Onboard was the charterer, their family and a briefer who was in control of the vessel. The investigation established that following recent maintenance, an inspection plate had not been replaced, allowing water ingress. It was further identified that the charter company’s maintenance procedures did not suitably document handing over and/or tagging of removed items during maintenance work.

AMSA no longer publishes static information on ship detentions on its website, this information is freely available and searchable through Tokyo MOU website databases.

Alerts the maritime industry to findings of two recent accident investigations conducted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and the New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission.

This marine notice advises vessel owners, vessel operators, masters, officers, seafarer training organisations and industry organisations that AMSA does not consider electronic visual distress signals (EVDs) to be a suitable replacement for pyrotechnic distress signals.

A 2C rescue vessel was preparing to depart a river entrance bar with 11 people onboard. The observed sea state was a wave height (breaking) of 1.4 to 1.8 metres. The entrance bar had a moderate to high level of congestion of jet skis and surfboard riders positioned within the aids to navigation departure leads. The vessel came within very close proximity to surfers on 3 occasions whilst negotiating the breaking sea conditions. The vessel then broached upon a wave resulting in the vessel heeling to port and becoming unable to be controlled due to the force of the wave.

Marine Order 55 (Vessels carrying industrial personnel) 2024 Consultation Report – Feb - Apr 2024

1 July 2023 – 30 June 2024 - xlsx

We offer nationally recognised units of competency in marine pollution response and incident management.

This feedback report summarises submissions we received on the proposed changes to Marine Order 27.

This marine notice highlights the need for shipowners, operators, masters and crews to ensure safe working arrangements are in place for any work involving height and the risk of falling.

You have a responsibility not to pollute the sea, and to be aware of the laws about oil and garbage pollution from vessels, including fishing vessels.

The short-term measure under the MARPOL Convention requires ships engaged on international voyages to make improvements to deliver a reduction in their carbon intensity by an average of at least 40% by 2030 (compared to 2008 levels), in line with the target set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

If your ship is found to have deficiencies during an inspection, you may be detained and delayed for an unknown amount of time.

The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) is the main international convention for addressing ship sourced pollution.

Find local suppliers of fuel oil in Victoria.

1 July 2023 – 30 June 2024 - xlsx

If you hold a valid STCW certificate issued by another country and want to work on an Australian-flagged vessel, you need a certificate of recognition (CoR). In some countries this is called a recognition endorsement.

Our 2025-26 regulatory program identifies the priority regulatory reform projects that will be progressed this financial year.