Queenscliff’s Marine Search and Rescue (MSAR) Unit volunteers will receive a new vessel to protect the safety of its members and community.
The vessel’s build has been supported with more than $2 million through the 2023-24 state budget to boost safer waters across the state, which will be delivered to MSAR in the middle of 2025.
The vessel will have the capacity to operate close to 60 nautical miles from the Coast Guard Queenscliff’s MSAR Unit base and can respond across Port Phillip, Bass Strait and Port Phillip Heads.
Coast Guard Queenscliff flotilla commander Michael Donohue said the new vessel would “significantly enhance safety” for the coast guard’s members and boating community.
“The new vessel is larger and more capable than the vessel that we have at the moment…and It will enable us to handle larger vessels that often break down,” he said.
“With the conditions in Bass Strait often being rough and perilous, boats get the strife. This will give us greater capacity to deal with vessels and vessels that get into trouble.
“It will give us greater range of our ability to traverse the Heads and in Bass Strait in often difficult conditions. This new boat being larger and more powerful, will be able to deal with those events.”
The vessel will help MSAR volunteers conduct search and rescue responses, tow damaged or disabled vessels, support aerial and police operations, assist flooding vessels and promote boating safety.
Member for the Bellarine Alison Marchant said it was “vital” that MSAR received the vessels “they need to keep people safe on the water”.
“MSAR volunteers operate in a challenging environment, navigating rough waters and changing weather conditions,” she said.
