In the early afternoon of 30 May 2022, a hire and drive sailing catamaran began to take on water before sinking shortly after departing the marina. Onboard was the charterer, their family and a briefer who was in control of the vessel. The investigation established that following recent maintenance, an inspection plate had not been replaced, allowing water ingress. It was further identified that the charter company’s maintenance procedures did not suitably document handing over and/or tagging of removed items during maintenance work.

On 16 March 2022, a class 2B landing barge collided with a starboard channel marker. The investigation identified that the previous swing engineer did not inform the incoming engineer that the port main engine cooling water suction valve was shut. After getting underway, the engine began to overheat. This distracted the master from monitoring the vessel’s intended track. The vessel’s safety management system did not have an appropriate engineering handover procedure.

In early 2018 representatives from Fire and Rescue New South Wales (FRNSW) and AMSA boarded the containership ANL Warragul for a three day voyage to test the hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) reconnaissance capability.

Mark Sherriff is a former AMSA lighthouse keeper and recipient of a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his services to community history.

In this edition we talk about correct use of the AMSA 586 form following a survey, draft standards on marina and boat electrical installations, ISO 12215 GES is now approved.

We’ve prepared materials to help you understand your requirements and what you need to do.

Exercise Barossa was a biannual oil spill response exercise conducted in Adelaide under our National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and Other Noxious and Hazardous Substances.

Vessel stability requirements and checklist for domestic commercial vessels (DCVs). Best practice guidance to stop your vessel from capsizing.

Arrangements between government and industry under the National Plan for Maritime Environmental Emergencies to respond to shipping casualties.

AMSA is proud to sponsor the Environmental Stewardship Award at the 2023 Tasmanian Seafood Awards.

On the evening of 2 April 2022, a Sydney Harbour ferry was operating a regular route between Manly and Circular Quay. A group of young males were exhibiting risk taking behaviour on the deck during adverse weather conditions. One of the group jumped, stumbled, and fell overboard without a lifejacket. The master came about and followed the ferry track back at dead slow to find the person overboard (POB). The POB had the presence of mind to use his mobile phone torch light in the dark to alert the master of his presence and was rescued.

On 14 July 1975 the Marine Operations Centre in Canberra was alerted that the oil tanker Princess Anne Marie had sustained a large crack in its hull approximately 300 miles off Western Australian.

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

The tender process for the next round of contracts to maintain Australia's aids to navigation network starts in July 2026. Find out more about this upcoming opportunity.

Find out about the search and rescue incidents we attended between July 2019 and June 2020

Operators of Regulated Australian Vessels (RAV) and Foreign Vessels, as well as the shippers of livestock, have obligations when loading and transporting livestock from Australia.

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.

You have a responsibility not to pollute the sea, and to be aware of the laws about oil and garbage pollution from vessels, including fishing vessels.