On 6 October 2022, two crewmembers were setting cray pots on the port and starboard side of a fishing vessel. During one setting, the crewmember’s foot (on the port side) became entangled in the cray pot’s rope dragging them over the side. The second crewmember raised the alarm and the master immediately stopped the vessel and instructed the crewmember to attach the line to the pot winch. The master and crewmember, having conducted regular emergency procedure drills, quickly raised the person overboard (PoB) via the pot winch, deployed the overboard ladder, and cut the rope. The PoB sustained some water in the lungs but was otherwise unharmed.

For vessels in distress or in need of assistance there can be, at times, a need to find an appropriate ‘place of refuge’, where steps can be taken to stabilise or repair the vessel and prevent the situation from worsening.

We are Australia’s national maritime safety regulator for domestic commercial vessels that operate within Australian waters.

Under the National Plan, we have marine pollution response equipment positioned in strategic locations around Australia to support response to an incident.

There are 48 infringements listed in the national law that can apply to vessel owners, masters, crew, or passengers. You can avoid an infringement notice by making sure your vessel, crew, and operations comply with the national law.

We collect and analyse information from reported marine incidents to improve safety across the maritime industry.

We are the Australian Government agency responsible for implementing the 1 January 2020 low sulphur fuel regulation as set out in the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).

We follow the guidance of international conventions when conducting search and rescue (SAR) activities.

In this safety lesson, veteran trawl fisher Mark Millward explains what he has learned from involvement in person overboard incidents. Mark has operated in the Queensland East Coast and Torres Strait Prawn Trawl Fisheries for over 40 years.

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

If you undertake towing operations with your vessel, there are unique risks that you must consider within your risk assessment as part of the safety management system.

The content of the Engineer cadet program including certificate and short courses, qualifying sea service and medical fitness.

Read about the skills and knowledge you’ll learn in a near coastal certificate course.

In this edition we look at the most common reasons for certificate of survey refusal.

Read about the results of consultation on proposed amendments to MO12 and MO32 to introduce new requirements for lifting appliances and anchor handling winches.

As a regulatory body, we are required to publish a range of information about our functions and how we carry them out. We do this under the information publication scheme.

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