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.

Designing, selecting, and testing anchoring systems.

A 7.5m punt (flat bottomed vessel) used for aquaculture operations contacted a marina at speed, injuring 4 people onboard.

Find out how domestic commercial vessels (DCVs) performed on safety, crew training, incident reporting and more during our focussed inspections campaign on towage operations.

Read a summary of results from the 2024 consultation on Marine Order 91 and download a copy of the full report.

AMSA surveyor’s will be using the checklist below when inspecting ships as part of our safety of navigation focused inspection campaign.

The mooring snagged on an unseen underwater object and the chain was pulled out of the bow roller and down the side of the vessel. The vessel capsized with no resulting injuries.

On Sunday 9 January 2012, the cargo vessel the MV Tycoon broke free from its mooring at Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island, and washed against the seawall and nearby cliff face. The ship had been loading phosphate at the time of the incident.

We use marine orders to give effect to international and national conventions and standards. Find out more about these conventions and standards and how you can access them as publications.

We are a team of dedicated professionals – hear more about our experiences working at AMSA.

A summary list of major historical oil spill incidents.

You can use the examiner checklists as study guides.These programs of study are guides only and the content of individual oral examinations may vary as the examiner may not cover all areas

Guidance for mariners and port stakeholders on the difference between a vessel traffic service (VTS) and a local port service.

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

Our structure gives you an idea of which area can help you when you get in touch.

We are a Commonwealth statutory authority which provides services to the Australian maritime industry. Sometimes we need to seek the help and support of private companies to deliver our services.

Your vessel may be inspected to verify your compliance with cargo requirements. These requirements and regulations apply to safety-related aspects for marine carriage of cargo.