Record rescue numbers logged on NSW waters

Marine Rescue NSW volunteers launched a record 3263 rescue missions for the season that ran from October 1 last year to April 25, a 1.3 percent increase over the previous record set in 2021 in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of note, the number of emergency missions increased by 7.0 percent to 897. In total, Marine Rescue NSW returned 7472 boaters safely to shore after they reported they were in some form of trouble.

However, 1860 of the call-outs – a massive 57 percent – were for potentially easily avoidable problems such as flat batteries, running out of fuel or engine problems.

“It’s been a really busy summer for our members and we have seen a consistent theme across a lot of our rescues,” Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner Alex Barrell said.

“We continue to see a lot of boaters running out of petrol, experiencing mechanical and engine failure and our message to boaters is to continue to check your equipment, make sure your boat is in good working order before you head out and importantly always check the weather conditions.”

A big positive of the boating season was the number of skippers that logged on with Marine Rescue NSW, either via the Marine rescue smartphone app or via VHF radio. Numbers checking in rose by around 20 percent this season to 48,379 log-ins, with the total number of radio calls hitting 156,244.

Of those, 53 were mayday calls from boaters in danger, while 44 were pan-pan calls, indicating that while the boaters making the call were not in immediate danger, they still needed help.

Marine Rescue NSW has provided a breakdown of the three busiest units in each zone:

NORTHERN RIVERS

MID NORTH COAST

HUNTER/CENTRAL COAST

GREATER SYDNEY

ILLAWARRA

MONARO