Pittwater Online News

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In the first education and safety blitz of 2025, NSW Maritime officers hit the water to remind jetskiers of their responsibilities during Operation Cool Your Jets.

Across Saturday and Sunday (January 11-12), officers conducted nearly 2000 vessel safety checks statewide, including around 600 jetskis, with Port Stephens, Forster, Botany Bay, Lake Illawarra, Jervis Bay and the Murray River among the jetski hotspots targeted by patrols.

Officers issued 95 penalty notices and 256 official warnings over the weekend, with a quarter of those offences relating to jetskis.

Top offences related to licensing and registration (32 per cent), lifejackets (26 per cent) and safety equipment (15 per cent) breaches.

Top locations for offences were along the Murray River around Mulwala (43 offences), Forster (25 offences), around Tuggerah (22), and Brisbane Waters (20) on the Central Coast, and near Moama (20).

NSW Maritime Cool Your Jets Campaign Coordinator Jay Ruming said while the vast majority of riders are doing the right thing, there are some who are continuing to be a danger and a nuisance to other riders, swimmers, boaters, residents and marine life.

“It’s the school holidays, the weather is hot, and we’re seeing huge volumes of jetski riders right across the state,” Mr Ruming said.

“Most of these riders are behaving in a manner that doesn’t put lives at risk or discourages people from enjoying our waterways at the best time of the year to do so. 

“Unfortunately, a small minority of these riders continue to do the wrong thing on our waterways through aggression, recklessness or inexperience.”

The operation comes at a time when the popularity of jetskis is booming, with more than 92,000 riders currently licensed in NSW – a 43 per cent increase from the same time five years ago. Maritime officers are reminding riders to look out for their mates and loved ones following a spate of incidents involving crashes with riders known to one-another.

“Our data tells us that jetskis are heavily over-represented in serious injury incidents. People involved in an accident on a jetski have a 50 per cent likelihood they’ll suffer a serious injury.”

Since the start of summer there have been ten jet-ski related incidents, with one of those crashes leaving a jetskier with a double pelvic fracture, another with broken limbs and a third rider with serious facial and spinal injuries after he was knocked unconscious.

Key safety advice for new and experienced operators includes making sure riders and their passengers are always wearing a lifejacket, making sure their licence and registration is up to date, and maintaining a safe distance from other waterway users.

Mr Ruming said it is crucial jetskiers know the rules and abide by them to avoid a potentially hefty fine, licence suspension, or worse, a serious crash.

“It’s important jetskiers know they need to stay at least 30 metres away from other vessels, objects or the shore when travelling six knots (11km/h) or more. They also, where possible, need to stay at least 60 metres away from people or dive flags” Mr Ruming said. 

In addition to compliance checks, NSW Maritime officers responded to several incidents over the weekend, including the rescue of a family whose kayaks capsized at Windang south of Wollongong, and the joint agency response to a vessel fire on the Parramatta River. 

NSW Maritime has introduced a wave of new initiatives for the 2024-25 boating season aimed at improving the safety of all waterway users.

For more information on rules around riding jetskis or personal watercraft (PWCs) can be found on the rules sticker required to be on all registered jetskis in NSW, and in the online rules handbook for riders.