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

3.3.4 Vessel occupant details, PFD wear
Data on the number of crew and passengers were available for 88 of the 90 vessels. Seventy-four percent
(n=67) of the vessels involved in ‘serious incidents’ carried no crew and 83% (n=75) carried no passengers.
The vessels carrying crew (n=23) carried between 1 and 23 crew members. Fifteen vessels carried
passengers (range 3-100 passengers).
The serious incident report form requires information to be completed on the person in charge of the
vessel and any other persons involved. Data on gender of persons involved showed that 58% were male
and 42% female. Age was given for person involved in 57% of incidents (n=51). The mean age was 52
years (age range 30-71 years).
The licence type held by the person in charge of the vessel involved in the incident was reported for 63%
of incidents. Thirty-seven percent were pilots, 7% were Pilot Exempt Master, 6% were coxswain, 4% were
Master Class 5, 2% were Master Class 4, and 1% was Skipper Grade 2. Two held no boating license (2%).
The person’s ‘activity’ was undefined for 76% of incidents and the ‘role of the person at the helm’ was
‘undefined’ for 99% of incidents. All of 90 incidents were coded to zero (‘0’) for PFD wear.
3.3.5 Seasonal distribution
Figure 2 shows the seasonal pattern of commercial marine incidents, presented separately for ‘response
only’ and ‘serious incidents’. The peak season for serious incidents was Spring (n=29, 32%) followed by
Summer (n=23, 26%). Response only incidents peaked in Autumn (n=16, 33%), due only to a high number
of incidents in May.
Figure 2 Distribution of commercial vessel incidents by month of incident,
Marine Incident Reporting system 2007/8 (n=139)
Jun
May
2
6
8
9
Serious incident (n=90)
Response only (n=49)
Apr
4
4
Mar
3
9
Feb
4
4
Month
Jan
Dec
2
4
9
10
Nov
2
11
Oct
4
13
Sep
5
7
Aug
2
7
Jul
4
6
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Frequency
22