On Monday 26 July 1999, the crude oil tanker the MV Torungen (25 tonnes), was secured in the offshore Varanus Island Marine loading terminal, located approximately 4.2 kilometres north-east of Varanus Island, Western Australia.

A charter vessel transiting between research sites at night collided with a stationary vessel. The stationary vessel’s master claimed to have an anchor light on, but the crew of the charter vessel stated they did not see any navigation lights. The master of the stationary vessel was preparing food on the vessel at the time and may have obstructed the anchor light view from the charter vessel’s crew. The master of the charter vessel was found to have been operating at high speed given the conditions (night operations). This also rendered the lookout ineffective.

Find out how to provide a photo that meets our requirements for your certificate application.

When completing a bunker delivery note, you will need to include specific details.

If you are no longer carrying out commercial operations outside the Australian exclusive economic zone, you can switch to being a domestic commercial vessel by surrendering your regulated Australian vessel (RAV) Certificate of survey , Maritime Labour Certificate, and load line certificate. You can then apply for domestic commercial vessel certification.

The search and rescue (SAR) satellite system we use in the Australian SAR region.

Find out about permitted tolerance, enforcement of requirements and how we will deal with delays in transmitting the VGM electronically.

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

Rules and conditions for vessels declared to not be regulated Australian vessels.

The minimum certification and qualifications required by lecturers to deliver our approved courses for the issue of an AMSA STCW Certificate. These requirements are in accordance with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping 1978, as amended (STCW).

ECDIS familiarisation ensures that master and navigating officers are familiar with the specific make and model of the ECDIS equipment onboard (including backup) before taking charge of a navigational watch.

Commonwealth legislation requires a verified gross mass (VGM) be supplied before a container can be loaded onto a ship.

We have diverse teams operating all around Australia.

Obligations of registered agents of Australian registered ships.

We want to know what you think about safety and emergency arrangements.

We consulted you about vessel reporting systems.

On 21 May 1990 an extensive oil slick was sighted approximately four nautical miles south-east of Cape Otway by the pilot of a light aircraft. The Australian-flagged tanker Arthur Phillip was later established as the source of the spill.