At 8.55 am on 10 September 1979, the tanker World Encouragement was conducting berthing operations at an Australian Oil Refinery (AOR) mooring at Kurnell in Botany Bay, New South Wales, when oil began rising to the water surface from beneath the ship.

This marine notice advises ship operators and owners of the hazards of transporting battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs).

Marine Order 503 (Certificates of survey – national law) 2018 (MO503) outlines when a domestic commercial vessel (DCV) needs a certificate of survey, and related survey requirements. These requirements help ensure that commercial vessels operating in Australia are safe and seaworthy.

DCV Safety Alert: 1/2021 aims to raise awareness of recommendations made by the United States, National Transportation Safety Board, following the investigation into the fire and subsequent loss of the passenger vessel Conception.

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

The information you provide in your incident report plays an important part in guiding the way we improve maritime safety for everybody on the water. By reporting marine incidents to us, you are also meeting your reporting obligations under Australian laws.

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.

The 277th meeting of the Board was held on Wednesday, 4 March 2026, in Hobart, Tasmania.

Our search and rescue incidents from 2015–16.

Apply for acceptance on the oil spill control agents register.

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

In this edition we give guidance on managing some of the changes mentioned in Schedule 1 of MO503, explain electrical plan approval requirements, and more.

The Sylvan Arrow was found guilty of discharging an oily mixture into the sea west of Wilson’s Promontory, Victoria on 18 December 1999.

This safety alert provides guidance to operators of domestic commercial vessels (DCVs) on risks associated with safety management systems inadequately considering electrical systems and other potential fire hazards.

Under Marine Order 503 a transitional vessel is an existing vessel that has: 

The information you provide in your incident report plays an important part in guiding the way we improve maritime safety for everybody on the water. By reporting marine incidents to us, you are also meeting your reporting obligations under Australian laws.

A Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) is a ship-specific plan to improve the energy efficiency of a ship.