FTA News - AMSA Update

AMSA Update - July 2025

Friday, August 8, 2025

Australian Government - Australian Maritime Safety Autority

July 2025

A monthly newsletter for domestic commercial vessel owners, operators and crew.

Now available: 2025-26 National Compliance Plan

Safety lesson: excessive speed leads to collision and passenger injuries

Spotlight on marine incident trends

Clean seas beyond Plastic Free July

In case you missed it

The 2025-26 National Compliance Plan is out now, with activities emphasising the importance of safety for domestic commercial vessels.

This year, the focus areas for domestic commercial vessels include:

Domestic vessel safety, including fatigue management, SMS implementation, lithium-ion battery risks, hazardous gases, and overboard incidents.
Support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander operators to strengthen SMS implementation and safe operations.
Safe towing and flood operations for emergency service vessels.
Joint inspections with WorkSafe targeting high-risk activities such as snorkelling and diving to improve safety outcomes.

The National Compliance Plan outlines our priorities and approach to help operators comply with their requirements under the law.

Read the 2025-26 National Compliance Plan

Excessive speed leads to collision and passenger injuries.

A passenger vessel travelling at speed collided with a cliff face resulting in serious injuries to passengers and major structural damage to the vessel.

Ensuring your crew have a thorough knowledge and understanding of your vessel's safety management system is critical to the operations of your vessel.

Read the safety lesson

The 2024 Marine Incident Report reveals key trends in marine incident reporting across the domestic commercial vessels, foreign-flagged vessels and regulated Australian vessels — this year showing a steady increase in reporting and continued safety engagement from industry.

In 2024, we received 5,625 marine incident reports, with around 21% involving domestic commercial vessels. The most common marine incident types were collisions, groundings, and propulsion or system failures with engineering system failures rising across all vessel types.

People-related marine incidents on domestic commercial vessels showed a mix of progress and reminders of the risks involved in maritime operations.

Person overboard incidents declined by 12.9%. However, there were 82 serious injuries reported across the fleet, and three fatal marine incidents involving domestic commercial vessels that resulted in the loss of four lives. These incidents serve as a reminder of the importance of maritime safety and risk management.

Why reporting matters
Operators are encouraged to report marine incidents and safety concerns. Every report contributes to a clearer understanding of industry risks and helps shape future safety initiatives under the 2025-26 National Compliance Plan.

Read the full report

During May 2025, there were 104 reported marine incidents involving domestic commercial vessels. Of these, 15 were serious.

A vessel sustained extensive damage from a fire due to a faulty battery, and another vessel grounded and required the evacuation of 4 crew members.

Read the May 2025 marine incident report

Plastic Free July is a global call to cut plastic waste for good. AMSA is committed to tackling marine plastic litter year-round through strong regulation, international collaboration, and supporting responsible vessel operations.

Domestic commercial vessels play a vital role by ensuring all plastic waste is disposed of properly — never overboard. Several actions go a long way in protecting our oceans:

Have a garbage management plan — Certain domestic commercial vessel owners and operators must have a garbage management plan.
Keep a garbage record book — Some vessels also need a garbage record book detailing how garbage is managed, collected, stored, processed, and disposed of.
Use the right signage — Vessels 12 metres and over must display MARPOL placards. Order your free placards now.
Report illegal garbage discharge — Call us or report online. You can also contact your local port authority.

Learn more about garbage management

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Monthly domestic commercial vessel incident reports

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Certificates of survey

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