Marine Safety in Victoria Report 2007-2008 (PDF, 1.3 MB, 72 pp.)

1.2 Data sources
1.2.1 Marine Incident Reporting (MIR)
Incident reports are made in accordance with Section 65 (cc) of the Marine Act 1988. This report covers
data on all marine incidents recorded using the Marine Incident Reporting (MIR) process from July 1, 2007
to June 30, 2008. The analyses are based on fiscal years to ensure that incidents recorded in each summer
boating season are counted in a single reporting year.
The data recorded using the MIR system conforms to the nationally agreed dataset established by the
National Marine Safety Committee in 1998. As defined by the National Marine Safety Data Collection
Reference Manual 1998, a marine incident is an ‘event causing or involving any of the following:
• death of, or serious injury to, any person on board a vessel, or caused by a vessel;
• loss of a person from a vessel;
• abandonment, loss or presumed loss of a vessel;
• collision of a vessel with another vessel or an object;
• grounding, sinking, flooding or capsizing of a vessel;
• fire or explosion on board a vessel; or
• structural failure of a vessel.
It is important to note that incident reports are generated only when an incident is notified to the Water
Police or to another designated emergency response organisation. If outside assistance is not required
then there is no legal requirement to report the incident. Therefore, many marine incidents are unlikely to
be reported and recorded using the MIR process. Examples of incidents that are not usually reported are:
• incidents at registered yacht club events where rescues are performed by the yacht club itself;
• incidents where a passing (usually recreational) vessel has provided assistance; and
• some categories of recreational incidents (e.g. waterskiing incidents) where the vessel occupants
provide direct assistance.
Some reported incidents that occur in a marine setting are out of scope and are therefore excluded from
the MIR process such as incidents involving:
• swimmers in distress (except ‘swim to shores’ from a marine vessel);
• suicides; and
• surf board and surf ski riders.
The MIR process divides incidents into two categories: ‘response only’ incidents and ‘serious’ incidents.
‘Serious’ incidents conform to the definition of a marine incident in the national reference manual
and include:
• Incidents resulting in hospital treatment (recently expanded to include emergency department
presentations in Victoria)
• Collision
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