Australia AMSA News

Safety Lesson: Fishing Trawler Capsized in Calm Waters, Head Injury

AMSA has published a safety lesson from a marine incident investigation into a fishing trawler that capsized in calm waters close to shore. A master suffered a head injury and pollution control measures were required. The safety lesson highlights that calm water does not mean low risk and that small changes to a vessel's stability can quickly add up and cause capsize. The lesson examines what went wrong, the key issues identified, and practical actions vessel operators can take to keep their vessels stable and crew safe.

Vessel Inspections Annual Report 2025 Shows 9% Increase

AMSA published its Vessel Inspections Annual Report 2025 on March 26, reporting that domestic commercial vessel inspections increased by 9% to 2,481 initial inspections compared to the prior year. The overall deficiency rate improved from 3.69 to 3.38 per inspection, though the detention rate rose slightly to 4.07% and detainable deficiencies increased from 140 to 198, particularly in vessel structure and safety management systems. The report also covers 80 initial and 50 follow-up inspections on regulated Australian vessels, and 2,768 initial and 1,848 follow-up inspections on 2,507 foreign-flagged ships.

Fatigue Hazard Management for Domestic Commercial Vessels

AMSA has published guidance emphasizing that fatigue remains one of the most significant hazards in domestic commercial vessel (DCV) operations, affecting everyone from the master to the newest crew member. Owners of Class 1, 2 and 3 domestic commercial vessels must address fatigue risks in their SMS by identifying when and why crew may become fatigued and documenting how those risks will be controlled in a fatigue risk management plan. AMSA is hosting a free webinar on fatigue management on Wednesday 6 May 2026 from 2:30–3:15pm AEST, with fatigue management resources including a guidance PDF and checklist available on its website.