We will conduct a focused inspection campaign (FIC) on passenger vessel safety requirements for domestic commercial vessels over the period 1 February 2022 to 30 April 2022.

This FIC focusses on passenger safety requirements implemented through recent changes to Marine Order 504.

New passenger safety requirements were implemented after a number of serious incidents in Australia involving passengers falling overboard unaccounted for or being left behind in a remote location. 

The purpose of the campaign is to ascertain the level of compliance with the existing and new passenger safety requirements in Marine Order 504. 

From 31 May 2020 operators carrying passengers have been required to:

• Have a procedure in place to monitor the number of passengers on board.
• Record passenger counts in the vessel logbook.
• Have a missing passenger procedure.
• For certain vessels and voyages have a procedure in place to count passengers embarking and disembarking¹.

The FIC will be carried out on Domestic Commercial Vessels that carry passengers.

^{1. This requirement is for Class 2 vessels carrying passengers, or Class 1 vessels permitted to carry no more than 75 passengers and when on a voyage over 30 minutes with no more than 12 hours voyage duration with no scheduled stops in the first 30 minutes and operating in B, C or D waters or E waters during the hours of darkness.}

Inspection process

Marine inspectors will undertake this FIC in conjunction with normal DCV inspections, or may conduct the FIC as a standalone FIC inspection. 

Where an inspector finds a deficiency in relation to the attached checklist, the inspector will discuss this with the person in charge of the DCV with a view to ensuring the vessel is brought into compliance.

Outcome of the FIC

The results of the FIC will be analysed and a report prepared. This report will be published on the AMSA website.

Inspection checklist

Below is a sample of the focused inspection campaign checklist.