SAFE T Y
Briefings
AMSA’s guidance on upcoming changes to SMS requirements
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has released information on new safety management system (SMS) requirements for domestic commercial vessels, which comes into effect from 1 June this year.
Key changes • Simplified SMS: Owners of some vessels under 7.5 metres will be eligible for a simplified SMS. Use our online simplified SMS tool to find out if the simplified SMS applies to you.
• Fatigue management: Vessel owners will need to identify and address the risk of master and crew fatigue in the vessel’s risk assessment. This does not apply to Class 4 vessels.
• Drug and alcohol policy: Vessel owners will need to have a drug and alcohol policy in the vessel’s SMS to manage the risks associated with drug and alcohol use.
• Cargo and dangerous goods: Vessels undertaking cargo operations, including the carriage of dangerous goods, will need to include a procedure in their SMS outlining how they manage the specific risks.
• Key operational procedures to be covered in every SMS: Class 1, 2 and 3 vessel owners will need to have procedures covering the key vessel operations in their SMS, if relevant.
• Vessel emergency plans: Loss of propulsion and oil or fuel spills will need to be covered in the vessel’s emergency plan, if relevant.
• Master and designated person responsibility statement: The master’s responsibility and authority statement has been clarified to better outline their authority and there is now a requirement to set out a designated person’s responsibility statement. Different rules may apply to vessels eligible to operate under a simplified SMS in certain circumstances.
• Assembly station requirements: Alternative assembly stations will only be required if reasonably practicable based on the vessel’s layout, characteristics and risk assessment. Different rules may apply to vessels eligible to operate under a simplified SMS.
• Record of vessel modifications: Vessel owners will need to identify risks to vessel stability in the vessel’s risk assessment and maintain a record of vessel modifications impacting stability. This does not apply to Class 4 vessels and different rules may apply to vessels eligible to operate under a simplified SMS.
Find out more:
https://bit.ly/3ZMUzbz.
USCG safety alert: Lifesaving equipment stowage on CFVs
The United States Coast Guard has published issued Safety Alert 01-25 to address hazardous stowage of lifesaving equipment on commercial fishing vessels (CFVs) following two recent marine casualties. Both incidents demonstrated the critical importance of proper storage and accessibility of lifesaving equipment to ensure the safety of crew members during emergencies.
In the first incident, a 41-foot CFV capsized and sank within two minutes after taking on water. The personal flotation devices (PFDs) were not stored in a location that could be easily accessed by the crew. As a result, the crew was unable to retrieve the PFDs before abandoning the vessel. Additionally, the vessel's liferaft and its hydrostatic release unit were improperly attached to an aftermarket fiberglass canopy. This canopy broke away and floated free during the capsizing, preventing the automatic deployment of the liferaft. Fortunately, one crew member managed to swim to the floating canopy and manually deploy the liferaft, averting a worse outcome.
In the second incident, a 60-foot CFV caught fire, forcing the crew to evacuate rapidly. Although the crew retrieved PFDs before abandoning the vessel, these were not stored in a readily accessible location. Instead, the PFDs were stowed in the galley beneath bench seating, far from the crew’s normal workstations such as the bridge or aft deck. Additionally, the vessel's throwable liferaft was stored under an internal pilothouse ladder located directly above the engine room, where the fire originated. The intensity of the fire made it impossible for the crew to retrieve the liferaft before abandoning the vessel.
To prevent similar hazardous situations, the Coast Guard strongly recommends that CFV operators take the following actions:
- Ensure that automatically deployable liferafts are securely attached to strong, permanent, and original structures on the vessel, with no overhead or nearby obstructions that could interfere with their float-free deployment.
- Stow manually deployable liferafts in compliance with U.S. Coast Guard requirements under 46 CFR 28.125, which mandate that they be stored in locations that are readily accessible for deployment during emergencies.
- Store PFDs in locations that are easy for all crew members to access, ideally in a manner that would allow them to float free in the event of a capsizing.
THE REPORT | MAR 2025 | ISSUE 111 | 23
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