Australia: Marine Safety Queensland – boating safety improvements

In a recent information bulletin (Dec 11), Marine Safety Queensland (MSQ) issued notice of some ‘Boating Safety Improvements’.

This is direct from the bulletin:

New legislation has been introduced to improve boating safety. The changes are intended to reduce marine incidents and increase the likelihood of surviving a marine incident.

The new requirements will apply mainly to recreational boating and personal watercraft operators. However, some requirements will also apply to commercial and fishing boat operators.

New legislative requirements

Changes include:

• Requiring a higher standard of boat operator skills for new licence holders of large recreational boats.
• Introducing better training for recreational licences.
• Extending the list of coastal bars requiring everyone onboard to wear a personal flotation device (PFD) when in an open boat under 4.8 metres in length.
• Additional operating requirements for personal watercraft (PWC) to minimise the likelihood of collisions.
• Additional safety  equipment requirements for PWCs operating offshore in line with other recreational boats.