HUNDREDS of jet ski and boat operators in Port Stephens and Lake Macquarie were stopped for random licence and safety inspections during a zero-tolerance operation at the weekend.
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The joint undertaking between NSW Maritime and the NSW Police Marine Area Command was held at multiple locations along the NSW coast, from as far south as Swansea to Tweed Heads in the north.
Operation Ride Safe mainly focused on the safe operation of personal watercraft (PWC) in known hot spots.
The Newcastle Herald joined NSW Maritime boating safety officers on the water at Nelson Bay on Saturday morning.
They had already been busy with a man going missing on a boat in Port Stephens on Friday night.
He had run out of fuel and had no mobile phone or radio.
He was found unharmed on Saturday, anchored and waiting for help.
The officers said it was a reminder of how easily things could go wrong.
Across the weekend, PWC operators were stopped for random inspections, which involving licence and registration identification, a safety equipment assessment and a breath test.
Fines can be issued for a range of offences, and officers constantly scanned the water to see if PWC restriction zones were adhered to and whether operators kept safe distances from other vessels, objects and people.
Nine penalty notices were handed out from 649 PWC inspections across the weekend. A further 16 penalty notices were issued from 740 boat safety checks.
Breath tests were carried out on 154 vessels and three mobile drug tests took place, but all proved negative.
“Given it was a ‘zero tolerance’ operation, the compliance rate of 93 per cent was a good result as it shows that most people who are heading out on the water are following the rules designed to keep everyone safe,” NSW Maritime executive director Angus Mitchell said.
While penalties were issued when required, the blitz was not just about coming down hard on those doing the wrong thing.
Maritime education staff were at boat ramps around Port Stephens to remind those heading out on the water of their responsibilities.
“We’re not trying to be fun police,” Maritime officer Paul Hearfield said.
“Our ultimate goal is for people to be compliant without us being there.
“If we can keep people thinking we could be just around the corner, and that’s the little trigger they need to do what’s required of them… everyone’s happy.”
Both NSW Maritime and the Marine Area Command will continue to heavily patrol the waterways over summer, particularly in Port Stephens, which Maritime executive director Angus Mitchell said was “bursting at the seams”.
“The focus of our attention is around education in the first place,” he said.
“The compliance side, for us, is a last resort. If we can get people, and we can educate people particularly before they get on the water, then our job’s done.
“Having said that, for things like life-jacket wear we do have zero-tolerance for offences.
“Eight out of 10 people who drown on our waterways aren’t wearing a life jacket.”