International lifejacket wear principles

The International Lifejacket Wear Principles were finalised at the Marine 13 boating conference, held in Sydney 2013. More than 70 people attended the forum which was held at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney and provided the opportunity for a public declaration of endorsement of the International Lifejacket Wear Principles.

Organisations¹ which are signatories to the International Lifejacket² Wear Principles agree to the following:

• We recognise the fundamental role the wearing of lifejackets plays in the safeguarding of life for water users;
• We recognise the importance of promoting the wearing of lifejackets when boating;
• We endeavour to ensure that any publication including brochures, DVD, video, websites, and the like will feature all people wearing contemporary style lifejackets when in an outside area of a small craft³ that is underway;
• We recommend to the recreational boating industry that its publications similarly feature all people shown wearing lifejackets when in an outside area of a small craft³ that is underway;
• We require on-water education and compliance staff to wear lifejackets whenever they are on the water;
• We use the term “lifejacket” in public information and education; and
• We encourage respective boating safety networks to become ‘safety partners’ by supporting the above principles.

The foundation signatories to the Principles were:

• Australian Recreational Boating Safety Committee;
• Canadian Safe Boating Council;
• Prevention at Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer (France);
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution (UK); and
• Maritime New Zealand.

Background

The main aim of the International Lifejacket Wear Principles is to promote lifejacket wear and to normalise it by encouraging boating media around the world to show people wearing lifejackets in small boats. The different jurisdictions, largely depending on marine conditions, define small boats variously as under 4.8m, under 16ft, under 6m or under 7m, and including tenders.

The draft principles were first discussed at the Canadian Safe Boating Council Symposium in 2012 and it was agreed that work would continue to finalise them at the Marine 13 conference in Sydney.

All those involved in these foundation principles have a joint goal of achieving a higher level of collaboration and coordination between leading boating authorities and organisations around the world.

Footnotes

1. Includes organisations not at the initial discussion in Lake Muskoka in 2012
2. Lifejacket is a generic term covering all nationally approved personal lifesaving appliances/devices
3. Different jurisdictions, largely depending on marine conditions, define small craft variously as under 4.8m, under 16ft, under 6m or under 7m. Small craft includes tenders.