Marine Rescue Queensland Gulf Zone president and State Council member Peter Graham says he is concerned fuel capacity and fit out issues with the new vessel bound for Weipa will cause operational problems and put volunteers at risk. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
Weipa’s marine rescue volunteers say they are worried they may need rescuing themselves amid concerns a new vessel is not fit for purpose to operate in the vast waters off western Cape York.
The vessel, which is currently at the Maritime Rescue Queensland (MRQ) base in Cairns until the Peninsula Developmental Road opens, was funded through the State Government’s $22.3 million Vessel Replacement Program and is intended to replace Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) Weipa’s current boat, which is now more than two decades old.
However, two veteran marine rescue volunteers have flagged concerns about the operating range of the vessel, as well as its appropriateness for multiple crew members to undertake multiday search and rescue missions.
Peter Graham, who sits on the MRQ State Council as Gulf Zone president and has more than 35 years’ experience in marine rescues, said he was concerned the vessel’s single fuel tank supplying twin outboard motors and a maximum range of about 300 nautical miles meant volunteers could end up putting themselves at risk on operations.
“The vessel itself, for east coast operations, is fine, quite suitable, other than the fact that it only has the one fuel tank that feeds two engines, and that sort of defeats the purpose of having two engines,” he said.
“If one fails, you can still get home safe and sound on the other one, but with this vessel, with a single tank, if you’ve got contaminated fuel or whatever it may be coming out of one tank feeding both engines, you’re dead in the water.
“Around the Gulf, where you have a massive coastline, equivalent of Brisbane to Townsville, we have four boats, whereas on the east coast, you have 60 boats, plus water police and so on.
“I’ve made it really crystal clear at the last volunteer marine rescue state meeting in Brisbane that these boats, don’t send them – they do not have enough fuel.”
As of March 2025, MRQ now falls under the jurisdiction of the Queensland Police Service, and VMR Weipa president Brendon Fay said he was worried the suitability of the new vessel could create workplace health and safety issues for local volunteers.
“For me, I want to be able to make a decision to send my volunteers out there to go rescue people knowing the boat is capable of what’s needed,” he said.
“It’s hard for me to send people out knowing the boat may not be fit for purpose; at the moment, we’ve got a good range on the current vessel, but it’s still limited – if there’s a rescue halfway to Karumba, we can’t come back to Weipa, we have to continue to Karumba to refuel [and] the new vessel will limit that even further.
“It’s definitely concerning – is the range going to be there?
“It’s also not equipped for long, overnight operations; there’s no shower, no bathrooms and if you’re going to put four people on a boat for four days, that’s not going to be good for hygiene.”
The issues raised by volunteers appear to have fallen on deaf ears, with neither Minister for Police and Emergency Services Dan Purdie nor the government seemingly willing to engage on the suitability concerns.
A spokesperson for MRQ told Cape York Weekly the new vessel was “compliant with Australian Maritime Safety Authority regulations”.
“MRQ consulted with Volunteer Marine Rescue Weipa volunteers regarding its new vessel,” the spokesperson said.
“The MRQ-funded vessel is approved to the national standard for commercial vessels survey category 2C and can operate anywhere in Queensland.
“[The] VMR Weipa president attended seas trials in Yamba … and accepted the vessel in February 2025, and it’s expected to be delivered to Weipa within the next month, weather permitting.”
It’s a case of night and day when the size and capacity of the new Volunteer Marine Rescue Weipa vessel (right) is shown alongside the vessel the Queensland Police Service deems appropriate for water operations in the northernmost part of the state. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
