How to stay safe during Exercise Talisman Sabre

In summary, it’s never going to be an argument that a fishing boat will win, as this infamous encounter caught on video clearly shows.

But with Exercise Talisman Sabre, a two-week-long military exercise involving 30,000 participants from Australia, the US and Japan, about to kick off around Brisbane, Gladstone, Townsville and Cairns, the chance of a fishing boat meeting one of the world’s most powerful warships will be high.

How then, do you avoid sparking an international incident on the water?

Exercise Talisman Sabre will run from July 22 to August 4 with numerous military amphibious landings, ground force manoeuvres, air combat, and maritime operations at locations across Queensland and along the state’s coast.

It will be up to Maritime Safety Queensland to manage any “interactions” between military, commercial shipping and recreational boats.

It will regularly make “notices to mariners” as official warnings to commercial and recreational boaters as well as update its social media with advice.

The water safety watchdog has also produced maps, charts and graphics to clearly define exercise areas and exclusion zones for recreational boaters throughout the exercise.

“Public interest in visiting and transiting warships is always high and MSQ will be supporting public awareness updates alongside the Australian military, Queensland Police, port authorities and local councils,” MSQ said.

“It is important to ensure the exercise is conducted safely and interactions between naval and recreational vessels are totally excluded or minimised,” it said.

Queensland already has contingency and port safety plans in place for visiting warships, which do visit the state’s ports regularly outside of the biennial military exercise.

MSQ said its Ports and Reef Vessel Traffic System (VTS) would monitor and interact with commercial shipping transiting the exercise areas, as well as military shipping involved in the exercise, where appropriate. 

And if you encounter an angry warship? History shows us it’s probably best to just follow its instructions rather than argue the toss. After all, might is right.