2016 Queensland Marine Incident Report

Marine Safety Queensland (MSQ) recently released its annual Marine Incident Report — Marine incidents in Queensland 2016 —  which is an important document for authorities to assess the safety performance of State's recreational and commercial boating fleet.

Last year Maritime Safety Queensland received reports of 409 marine incidents which involved 496 recreational vessels. Tragically this included 13 deaths — six more than in 2015 — and the worst result in almost 10 years.

In the foreword of the latest incident report, Neil Scales OBE, Director-General of the Department of Transport and Main Roads, said it was is disturbing that nine of these people were masters of boats, the very people responsible for the safety of their vessels, their passengers and others.

"Even more concerning is that only one of the people who drowned, or is thought to have drowned, is known to have been wearing a lifejacket.

"Clearly continuing education, regulation, and enforcement have an important part to play in safe boating," he said.

Mr Scales says while last year’s rise in deaths and injuries compared to the previous year is deeply disappointing, the longer term picture of the state’s safety performance continues to head in the right direction.

THE INCIDENTS
All told, Queensland regulated ships were involved in 409 reported incidents. These involved 496 Queensland regulated ships (QRS or rec boats) and 73 domestic commercial vessels (QCVs).

The most commonly reported incidents were collisions between 'ships' or rec boats (25%), collisions with an object (9%), capsizing (10%) and groundings (15%).

These incidents resulted in 115 people being injured, including 40 who were admitted to hospital and the 13 fatalities.

Fifty-eight per cent of those injured were not in charge of the vessel at the time the incident occurred. But nine of the 13 people who died were the masters of Queensland regulated ships.

Only one of the people who drowned or is presumed to have drowned is known to have been wearing a life jacket.

Two of the vessels involved in fatal incidents were not appropriately registered and four of the masters were unlicensed.

TYPES OF BOAT'S INVOLVED
The 409 reported incidents involved 569 vessels, of which 496 were Queensland Regulated Ships(rec boats or QRSs) and 73 were Domestic Commercial Vessels (DCVs).

The 496 QRSs were predominantly motorboats (60%) and sailboats (23%), while personal
watercraft (PWC) accounted for a further 9% of the vessels involved in these incidents.

Thirty per cent of the motorboats were less than 5 metres in length, 54% were less than 7.5 metres in length, and 67% were less than 10 metres in length. In contrast, only 8% of sailing vessels were less than 7.5 metres in length, 27% less than 10 metres and 95% were less than 15 metres in length.

Two-hundred and ninety-six of the 496 QRSs involved in these incidents were damaged. Forty four vessels were lost, 49 had major damage, 83 moderate damage and 120 minor damage.

Incidents resulting in moderate or minor damage were commonly the result of collisions between ships or collisions with objects. Major damage was commonly the result of groundings or collision between ships. Incidents in which a vessel was lost were commonly the result of flooding, grounding, or a fire/explosion.

The 73 DCVs involved in these incidents included 31 passenger vessels, 24 non-passenger vessels,5 commercial fishing vessels and 9 hire and drive vessels (one motorboat, 4 sailboats, 2 PWC, and 2 houseboats).

While none of these 73 vessels were lost, 3 reported major damage, 12 reported moderate damage, and 11 reported minor damage. Seventeen of the 26 vessels reporting material damage were involved in a collision between ships.

PWCs NOT UNDULY REPRESENTED
Over the period 2007 to 2016, there were 401 PWC involved in 306 reported marine incidents which resulted in 9 fatalities and 135 other people being injured.

Over the same period, the number of registered PWC rose by an average of 10 per cent a year from 9977 in 2007 to 23,435, in 2016 while the number of current PWC licenses (PWCL) rose by an average of 14.5 per cent a year from 45,829 in 2007 to 155,828 in 2016.

But the number of incidents, the number of PWC involved, the number of people involved and the total number people injured, do not provide evidence of any trend over the period.

Given the consistent increase in the number of registered PWC over the period, the number of reported incidents per 10,000 registrations has exhibited a significant downward trend over the period.

KINDS OF PEOPLE INVOLVED
The 409 reported incidents resulted in 115 people being reported injured, including 40 hospital admissions and 13 deaths.

The 62 people who reported minor injuries included 27 masters, 12 crew members, 15
passengers, 4 water skiers, and 4 swimmers. The majority (58%) of these injuries were the result of groundings (10), on-board incidents (19), and capsizing (7). In 41 of the 62 cases the vessel involved was a motorboat, in 15 cases it was a PWC, in 5 cases a sailboat, and in one case a paddle boat.

Among the 40 people admitted to hospital were 12 masters, 4 crew members, 21 passengers, a
water skier, and 2 swimmers. The majority (60%) of these injuries were the result of on-board incidents (5), fire/explosion (5), groundings (9), and 5 collisions between ships.

In 29 of the 40 cases the vessel involved was a motorboat, in another 8 cases it was a PWC. The remaining cases involved a paddle boat (1), and sailboats (2). The 46 masters injured, 44 men and 2 women, were aged between 13 and 74 years of age.

Their median age was 43 years. The other 69 people injured, 29 women and 40 men, were aged between 6 and 86 years and their median age was 42 years. The median age of both of these groups were well below the median age (51) of masters reporting marine incidents in which no one was injured.

VERDICT
The 13 fatal incidents which resulted in 13 fatalities involved 14 recreational vessels: 7 motorboats, 4 paddle boats, 2 PWC, and a houseboat. Five of the incidents were person overboard incidents, 3 were capsize incidents, and 2 were grounding incidents.

There was also a collision between ships, a collision with a person, and another uncategorised incident which involved a paddle boat.

While the number of reported marine incidents involving a QRS increased from 334 in 2015 to 409 in 2016, it is not significantly different to the long-term (2007-2016) average number of reported incidents.

More at
Marine incidents in Queensland 2016.