National Safe Boating Week 2023 spotlights importance of lifejackets and distress beacons

With National Safe Boating Week (NSBW) currently underway, this year’s key message is the importance for boaties to carry and use lifejackets and distress beacons.

Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) has joined other Australian and New Zealand maritime authorities in a week-long campaign to remind recreational and professional mariners of the importance of lifejackets and distress beacons.

The campaign forms the centrepiece of National Safe Boating Week as governments strive to reduce the national death toll from boating incidents.

Maritime authorities regard lifejackets and distress beacons (commonly know as EPIRBs) as essential safety equipment for boaties, particularly when venturing offshore.

Distress beacons can quickly alert search and rescue authorities to the precise location of mariners in distress, while lifejackets can keep people afloat until rescued.

In Queensland in 2022, failure to wear lifejackets was a factor in 80% of boating fatalities. 13 of the 15 fatalities were people who drowned or were lost at sea, and of these 13, only one was wearing a lifejacket.

It is compulsory in Queensland for vessels voyaging beyond smooth or partially smooth waters, or more than two nautical miles from land in open waters, to carry a distress beacon.

The week will conclude with ‘Wear Your Lifejacket to Work Day’ on 6th October to help debunk the myth that lifejackets are uncomfortable or cumbersome to wear.

Further information on National Safe Boating Week and lifejackets can be found at www.anzsbeg.com.au/national-safe-boating-week