The oil spill from the Oceanic Grandeur in Torres Strait in March 1970 highlighted Australia’s lack of preparedness at the time to deal with a major oil spill in the marine environment.

What changes to Marine Order 54 (Coastal pilotage) 2014 (MO54) did we seek feedback on?

On 3 April 2010, the Shen Neng 1 was traversing a well-known shipping route south of the Douglas Shoal when it ran aground 38 nautical miles east of Great Keppel Island at about 5.30 pm.

Our regulatory program is prepared annually and contains details of planned and completed changes to our regulatory instruments

Read a transcript of the webinar 'Changes to safety management systems requirements' held 19 March 2025.

We seek your feedback on MO503, talk about surveyor responsibilities when making recommendations, applying for specific exemptions, or following up electrical wiring and more.

In this edition we talk about recent surveyor audits.

Chemical dispersants are one of the response tools available during oil spill responses.

In 2023, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a revised strategy on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships.

This safety alert draws the attention of vessel operators to the importance of planned maintenance in ensuring safe operation of domestic commercial vessels.

Our scholarship program supports the development of skills in the maritime industry and builds our brand as an employer of choice.

These are the deficiencies for MARPOL that our inspectors have found.

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.

Get the latest insights from vessel inspections including detentions, common safety risks and compliance performance. 

The 275th meeting of the Board was held on Wednesday, 24 September 2025, in Canberra, ACT.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is the Commonwealth statutory body with responsibility for establishing and maintaining marine aids to navigation (AtoN) pursuant to section 190 of the Navigation Act 2012 (Cth).

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

This five-year outlook of future action covers specific industry issues, international developments, priorities for standards, and legislative expiries.

Find out about the automatic identification system (AIS).