May 2019: Passenger safety briefing – Maritime Rules Part 82

This safety update is for:

• owners and operators of commercial jet boats who are operating on a river within New Zealand.

Background

This safety update highlights the importance of effectively communicating the pre-trip safety briefing to passengers who may have difficulty understanding a verbal briefing.

Pre-trip passenger safety briefing

Under Part 82 commercial jet boat operators must have procedures in place to screen passengers and provide safety information.

Owners and drivers must not carry a passenger on the trip if they have doubts that the passenger understands the safety briefing.

Safety information must be provided both verbally and in a form that can be understood by non-English speakers. The following information provided must be conveyed to passengers.

1. Before passengers board the boat

Owners and drivers must determine whether each passenger is safe to carry. Passengers may not board if they have an impairment that is or could be hazardous to themselves or someone else on the boat.

Passengers must be advised about the risks involved with commercial jet boating.

2. Before the trip commences

Passengers must be:

• briefed on the safety features of the boat and its equipment
• advised to remain seated and keep their arms inside the boat when it is underway
• advised that spins, extreme turns, and other manoeuvres will be undertaken.

3. During the trip

Passengers must be given adequate warning before extreme turns, and other manoeuvres are undertaken.

Recommended approach

Maritime New Zealand recommends that the screening and safety information required by Part 82 is made available in English, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and German.

Where possible, interpreters should be used to translate the pre-trip safety briefing. This should supplement but not replace the safety information provided for passengers.

Where possible, we recommend that key safety messages are depicted in pictorial form to assist passenger comprehension. An example is provided below.