Recreational Boat Users

Fremantle Port waters are part of a busy working port. The marked channels are not recreational areas. Ships have operational limitations in restricted waters, such as shipping channels. Small boats must give way to any large vessel travelling in the same channel. A small boat can move safely out of a channel but a large ship cannot move into open water. Kayaks, windsurfers, jet skis, wave skis or any other personal watercraft should avoid the marked channels and should also be aware of the safety equipment requirements, which restrict these watercraft to inshore waters. Personal watercraft needing to travel through the Fremantle Inner Harbour must obey the 8-knot speed limit and keep to the right of the main channel. The general boating rule of: look right, give way to the right, turn to the right and stay to the right applies to Fremantle Port waters. When travelling through shipping channels, including Fremantle Inner Harbour, stay to the right and not the centre. Recreational vessels should also keep well clear of berthing vessels to avoid going between a ship and the berth.

Commercial shipping movements are slow and deliberate, due to the size of the ship. Movements within the port are conducted under the control of skilled pilots. As ships cross into the port limits they can appear to zigzag through Gage Roads. These movements are made to keep the ship within the Deep Water Channel that provides safe passage to the Fremantle Inner Harbour or Outer Harbour, or to safe anchorage for deep-draft ships. Many of the aids that help the masters and pilots navigate a course are shore based and are not always apparent to recreational boat users at sea. Stay well clear of large ships. In Fremantle Inner Harbour, signs that a ship is about to depart include:

• tugs or the orange pilot boat waiting close by a ship
• a red and white vertical ‘pilot on board’ flag flying from a ship
• crew activity on a ship’s bow and stern.

 Avoid shipping activity by staying well clear, observing shipping activities before entering a channel and remembering that small boats are far more manoeuvrable than large ships.

Vision is limited from a cargo ship’s navigation bridge. Containers, cargo-handling gear and the ship itself can all obscure the crew’s vision. Boat users cannot assume that because they can see a ship, the ship can see them. You must be able to clearly see the centre windows of the ship’s bridge to ensure you can be seen. The distance from which you can be seen can vary depending on the size of the ship and position of the bridge. Container vessels can have a ‘blind’ sector extending 1.5 km ahead of the ship.

Big ships can’t stop quickly or manoeuvre like small boats. Cargo ships generally cannot steer well if they are navigating at slow speed, so it is important a ship maintains heading and speed once on course. Size also limits a cargo ship’s ability to manoeuvre quickly. When operating in the Fremantle Inner Harbour entrance channel they have no room to manoeuvre out of the centre of the channel. Ships transiting the Success and Parmelia Channels to and from Cockburn Sound are also restricted and must keep to the centre of the channel. There is also a Deep Water Channel in Gage Roads and boat owners should recognise that this channel has the same constraints for shipping as all other marked channels in the port. Regulations to prevent collisions at sea require small vessels to keep clear of a vessel restricted in its ability to manoeuvre. Any commercial ship transiting a marked channel should be considered to have restricted movement and recreational craft should stay clear.