Highlights the importance of maintaining rescue boats in good working order ready for immediate use

Latest standards for wheelhouse visibility, emergency escapes, crew and passenger accommodation, and personal safety on domestic commercial vessels. Includes updated requirements for evacuation, signage and preventing falls overboard.

Specifies safety standards for the design, construction, equipping and operation of a domestic commercial vessel that is a leisure craft.

Due to amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers 1978 (STCW), refresher training is required for some certificates.

The 2019-20 Australian Vessel Traffic Services Award was awarded to Warren Bath, VTS Operator at Hay Point, Queensland, for his coordination of an incident involving a bulk carrier.

A charter vessel with passengers was conducting a cruise around Sydney Harbour when it narrowly missed an unlit runabout at night. The vessel ran aground, and two attempts to tow the vessel off the sandbank were unsuccessful. The investigation found that the master did not risk-assess the route and respective conditions. The vessel safety management system provided the master with no clear direction on safe routes to follow. The command, control, and communication with and between the crew in relation to emergency procedures and response was ineffective.

A fire occurred on a passenger vessel in a busy harbour. The master and crew took immediate action and followed emergency procedures to disembark and transfer 73 passengers safely to another ferry. The vessel’s structural and fixed firefighting systems worked effectively to contain and extinguish the fire.

If you have an offer of employment on a ship registered on the Australian International Shipping Register (AISR), you may need a certificate of equivalence (CoE). A CoE allows you to work on an AISR-registered ship using your overseas STCW certificate, without an AMSA-issued certificate of competency or certificate of recognition.

This marine notice draws attention to the importance of providing shore leave to seafarers, for ships visiting Australian ports.

Outlines the dangers of using weighted heaving lines when transferring mooring lines to tugs and shore linespersons

Survey passenger vessels with offshore operations Class 1C (with berthed passengers), 2B and 3B, are required to carry a Scale E medical cabinet and a Scale F First aid kit on board.

Vessels owned and operated by community groups or clubs may or may not be domestic commercial vessels.

All vessel owners need to do a risk assessment to work out what medical and first aid equipment to carry. Class 1, 2 and 3 survey vessels have minimum medical and first aid equipment they are required to carry.

We are responsible for leading national policy on vessel traffic services (VTS).

Dr Rosalie Balkin was appointed to the AMSA Board on 21 November 2018 for a three year term.

Common questions about the National Standard for Commercial Vessels, Part C–Design and construction, Section 2, Watertight and weathertight integrity.