A commercial vessel must have a valid Certificate of Survey for its particular service and area of operation.

Commercial vessels are those used for industrial, commercial or scientific purposes and includes vessels declared by regulation to be commercial which includes:

• fishing vessels
• tourist/charter boats
• work boats
• ferries
• dive boats
• hire and drive house boats.

All commercial vessels are assessed in accordance with the regulations under the Harbors and Navigation Act and Regulations 1993, the Uniform Shipping Laws (USL) Code and equivalent standards.

An initial survey is undertaken at the start of construction of a vessel – or where a vessel is being surveyed for the first time – enabling the issue of a Certificate of Survey/Registration/Inspection.

Survey activities include:

• Application for initial survey;
• New vessel construction - general arrangement, structural drawings, machinery drawings, scales of drawings;
• Existing vessels;
• Vessels not built under survey;
• Vessels with a current Certificate of Survey from another state Authority;
• Survey during construction - stability approval, prior to completion of survey, Certificates of Compliance, completion of initial survey, issue of a Certificate of Survey;
• Crewing determination;
• Safety equipment;
• Periodic survey.

To find out more about what is involved in these activities, please read the following documents available on our forms page in PDF format:

• Survey requirements for commercial vessels
• Classification and Operating Areas for Commercial Vessels
• Requirements for the construction, operation & inspection of hire and drive houseboats

On completion of the survey, a Certificate of Survey/Inspection/Registration is issued with permission for the vessel to operate commercially for the period stated on the Certificate.

Certificates of Survey issued are usually valid for a period of:

• 24 months for a fishing vessel;
• 24 months for a commercial hire and drive houseboat;
• 12 months for all other vessels.