AMSA will be closed from 5 pm AEDT Tuesday 24 December 2024, re-opening on Thursday 2 January 2025. Our search and rescue will continue to operate every day (24/7) during this time. See which services are affected.

What is a marine incident?

Marine incidents are defined by relevant Australian laws and include a number of different types of incidents.

A marine incident may include the following:

  • Death of, or injury to, a person associated with the operation or navigation of a vessel
  • The loss or presumed loss of a vessel
  • Collision of a vessel with another vessel
  • Collision by a vessel with an object
  • The grounding, sinking, flooding or capsizing of a vessel
  • Fire on board a vessel
  • Loss of stability of a vessel that affects the safety of the vessel
  • The structural failure of a vessel
  • A close quarters situation
  • A dangerous occurrence, which is an occurrence that could have caused the death of, or serious personal injury to, any person on the vessel

It can also include:

  • An event that results in, or could have resulted in:
    • the death of, or injury to, a person on board a vessel
    • the loss of a person from a vessel
    • a vessel becoming disabled and requiring assistance
  • The fouling or damaging by a vessel of:
    • any pipeline or submarine cable
    • any aid to navigation
  • Other incidents that are prescribed by the regulations include but are not limited to:
    • failure in operation of a component of material handling equipment, whether or not a person is injured because of the failure
    • loss of cargo of a vessel
    • significant damage to a vessel
    • a seafarer is injured or contracts an illness that incapacitates them from the performance of their duty
  • Any serious danger to navigation on or near the course of the vessel.

To report a marine incident, use the following forms:

Incident alert form 18

Incident report form 19

Last updated: 14 October 2019