Marine Notices

What is a Marine Notice?

Marine Notices are issued both to provide safety advice to vessel operators and in accordance with certain statutory requirements. They are published in newspapers, placed on the NSW Maritime website, and distributed to relevant maritime related organisations such as the volunteer marine rescue organisation. Any organisation can sign up to be emailed details of marine notices as they occur.

Marine Notices are issued:

Navigation Warnings are published from time to time to advise the boating public of hazardous conditions which we may become aware of. For instance, if a vessel sinks in shallow water and becomes an obstruction, or if a coastal bar shifts and changes shape, we may publish a Navigation Warning in the paper to let people know. These warnings have no legal status as such, and are simply done in an advisory capacity as the safety regulator. Aside from providing a service in the interests of 'good government', Navigation Warnings form part of NSW Maritime’s risk management approach to safe navigation. NSW Maritime makes every effort to warn vessel operators if physical circumstances change which may present a danger that was hitherto unknown, and which vessel operators may not be aware of.

Exclusive use Aquatic Licence or Special Event Marine Notices are authorised by Statute, and relate to the granting of an Aquatic Licence by NSW Maritime to allow a particular body to have "exclusive use" of waters for the purposes of a race, regatta etc. (Clause 73 of the Marine Safety (General) Regulation 2009). A Notice is also required to be published where a Special Event is declared (Section 12 of the Marine Safety Act 1998). These Notices advise the public that certain areas of water are closed to recreational navigation. Notices generally will describe the parameters of the area which is to be used for exclusive use, the time and date, and the means by which the area is to be marked off. These Notices are required under the Act to allow the public to be aware of things that are occurring at any one time for which it has been deemed appropriate to grant exclusive use, so that they don't accidentally wander into the middle of a race, a dangerous set of construction works, or a fireworks barge for instance. Once a Notice is published, an offence is created for breaching it, and a vessel operator can be fined for failing to leave an area that has been published as being an exclusive use/special event area.

North Coast Region

Hunter Inland Region

Sydney Region

Hawkesbury River/ Broken Bay Region

South Coast Region

Murray Inland Region