BIA vows to meet with recreational boat safety authority

The Australian Recreational Boating Safety Committee (ARBSC), which is responsible for the Australian Builders Plate that is fitted to all boats sold in Australia and spells out basic safety limits such as the number of passengers and the maximum rated engine a boat can use, was singled out in an inquest into the sinking of a Halvorsen 42 Coastal Cruiser in 2020.

According to the coroner, a design defect in the Halvorsen 42 Coastal Cruiser caused it to capsize unexpectedly, resulting in the death of one of the people onboard.

In her finding, Coroner Erin Kennedy made four separate recommendations to the ARBSC to consider ways to lift safety benchmarks on Australian-built and imported boats, introduce an industry-wide code of practice and educate boaters on safety standards.

BIA president Neil Patchett told boatsales it would reach out to the ARBSC to help it start the review process.

“The BIA is seeking a meeting with the Australian Recreational Boating Safety Committee (ARBSC) that represents maritime regulators across the nation who were the recipients of the majority of recommendations,” Patchett said. 

“The BIA stands ready and willing to work with the ARBSC to support improvements to vessel safety and boat brokerage standards where appropriate, and the opportunity to support a national education campaign funded by maritime regulators to help the public, industry and stakeholders be aware of safety and responsibility issues when it comes to buying, selling and owning a boat.”

BIA member services general manager Nik Parker was instrumental in giving evidence before the inquiry, highlighting that Australia did not have any inspection requirements for recreational vessels, and that only commercial vessels were subject to strict regulation and testing under the oversight of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

According to Parker, the safety of recreational boats lay with the Australian Recreational Boating Safety Committee, which is made up of senior members from federal, state and territory marine safety authorities.

The court was told that the ARBSC was also responsible for the Australian Builders Plate (ABP), which allows a “competent person”, typically the company building the boat, to rate the boat according to “relevant national or international technical standards.

However, the coroner noted the ABP did not include information about how the boat complied with those standards or how stable they were “in various operating conditions and loading scenarios”.

Parker also told the coroner the ABP was more applicable to boats less than 6.0 meters in length rather than larger craft.

Patchett said the BIA acknowledged the coroner’s efforts to investigate the 2020 capsize, and would “review the findings and recommendations”.

He said the BIA also extended its thoughts to the family of the man who drowned in the incident.

However, while the BIA will seek to meet with the ARBSC, it declined to weigh in on whether the coroner’s recommendation on licensing boat dealers was necessary.

It also declined to comment on whether its own code of conduct that its members must adhere to was working effectively – the BIA represents marine industries in Queensland, NSW and South Australia, with Victoria and WA using their own versions.

The ARBSC meets at least twice a year. It established the Australian Builders Plate system, aimed at enhancing the safety of recreational boating, in 2005 with the support of Australian boat builders and governments.

According to the coroner, the lack of an effective certification process for boats bought and sold in Australia “is unacceptable and poses a risk to the lives of a significant, but unknown, number of people”.