New Marine Card simplifies tender and workboat duties

Marina staff and contractors now have a simpler option for complying with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA's) National System for Domestic Commercial Vessels.

A recreational boating licence and a Boating Industry Association Marine Card is all that is required for most low complexity boating operations, following reforms implemented this month.

As part of AMSA’s initiative to streamline and simplify operations, this reform benefits the skippers of marina tenders and work boats, together with runabouts used for on-water jobs in marina or mooring areas.

These skippers will now comply with the requirements of the National Law if they are over 16 years of age and hold both a current recreational boat driver’s license issued within Australia, as well as a current Marine Card issued under the Boating Industry Associations Workplace Health & Safety (WHS) induction program.

The Marine Card equivalent solution for low complexity operations applies to vessels under 12m long, with outboard engine power no greater than 250kW, and inboard engine power no greater than 100kW — the types of vessels that are generally covered under Exemption 38.

This equivalent solution reduces the cost and time impacts of Exemption 38 compliance on commercial vessel owners and skippers, who previously needed to complete specific training. This training was time consuming, costly, and hard to find, and generally mirrored what was covered in general boating license training, and safety inductions.

"Whether we’re working on land or out on the water, we all want to go home safely. Over the past decade, the Boating Industry Association has developed and rolled out the Marine Card as an entry level induction for every worker to drive improved Health and Safety awareness, performance, and compliance for our sector," Howard Glenn, CEO of the BIA said.

"In collaboration with AMSA, we’ve been able to establish a simpler pathway to safety for operators close to shore, in sheltered waters, where most marinas and mooring fields are. This substantially reduces the cost and off-the-job training time of skippers, many of whom are young people in apprenticeships, traineeships, or part-time roles at yacht clubs and marinas."

The Marine Card program is the WHS induction program run by the Boating Industry Association. The Marine Card induction is available to anyone (BIA membership is not a pre-requisite), and usually takes 2-hours to complete in a single sitting, or multiple sessions as suits the user.

On completion of the induction, a wallet-card is issued and an online profile is established to which the inductee can upload insurances, qualifications, licenses, or other documents. These profiles are freely searchable and viewable at www.marinecard.org.au, so the Marine Card holder can easily share important information and documentation with employers, clients, controllers of site or vessel access, or AMSA.

The Marine Card induction costs $130, and the card and online profile are valid for five years. To get your Marine Card or for further information on the program visit www.marinecard.org.au, or contact Alan Barrett at BIA on 02 9438 2077.

Exemption 38 including the Marine Card equivalent solution can be found here.