Application
Fisheries compliance officers may be required to board vessels at sea, in the course of their compliance duties or assisting with multi-agency emergency and critical incident response. |
Elements and Performance Criteria
ELEMENT | PERFORMANCE CRITERIA |
1. Plan boarding operation | 1.1. Risk assessment of factorsaffecting the boardingoperation is carried out. 1.2. Boarding plan is developed following agency guidelines and procedures. 1.3. Boarding plan is shared with team members in briefing session. 1.4. Personal role and responsibility in the boarding party is understood. |
2. Carry out pre-boarding preparations | 2.1. Visual inspection of vessel is carried out and boarding plan adjusted according to changed risk assessment. 2.2. Tender is prepared and checked. 2.3. Equipment and supplies are stowed securely on tender and personal gear donned. 2.4. Responsibilitiesrelevant to role and boarding plan are fulfilled. |
3. Board vessel | 3.1. Relevant agency guidelines and procedures are followed throughout. 3.2. Commands and signals are used and responded to as appropriate. 3.3. Vessel is boarded according to agency procedures. 3.4. Personal fitness level is adequate for boarding and inspection tasks. 3.5. Onboard inspection is conducted. 3.6. Situational awareness is maintained at all times. 3.7. Personal defensive equipment (PDE) is used if safety of fisheries officers is threatened. 3.8. Boarding team member is prepared to evacuate boarded vessel in the event of an emergency. 3.9. Vessel is disembarked safely. |
4. Complete post-boarding operation | 4.1. Assistance appropriate to team member's role is provided in retrieval of tender to master vessel. 4.2. Tender is refuelled and checked for serviceability. 4.3. Opinion on boarding operation, adherence to agency guidelines and procedures, and effectiveness of boarding team is made at debriefing session. |
Required Skills
Required skills |
applying water safety skills for survival and attracting help communicating in briefing and debriefing meetings communicating with boarding party using command and signal techniques communicating with team members during planning briefing and debriefing meetings conveying information and instructions to skipper and crew of boarded vessel deploying a ladder from tender to boarding vessel employing climbing techniques to boarding a vessel taking a risk assessment approach to planning boarding operation using commands and signals during boarding, disembarking and onboard inspection observation skills to carry out onboard inspections and to maintain situational safety. Literacy skills used for: taking notes as evidence. Numeracy skills used for: counting number of crew on vessel to be boarded estimating size of vessel (e.g. length, height and speed) estimating catch calculating the amount of fuel required for a boarding operation. |
Required knowledge |
agency guidelines and procedures relevant to boarding and disembarking a vessel at sea and conducting an onboard inspection climbing techniques for ladders and boarding vessels at sea communication techniques for: command and signal during the onboard operation instructing crew and skipper of boarded vessel risk assessment as part of planning process roles and responsibility of boarding party members types of vessels and their implications when boarding water safety techniques, such as: water entry deployment of personal flotation device (PFD) individual and group survival techniques drown proofing. |
Evidence Required
The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package. | |
Overview of assessment | |
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit | Assessment evidence must confirm ability to: develop a boarding plan using risk assessment process and agency guidelines and procedures board a vessel safely in a range of weather conditions apply water safety techniques in an emergency. Assessment must confirm knowledge of: risk assessment and planning processes vessel types and implications when boarding water safety techniques. |
Context of and specific resources for assessment | Assessment is to be conducted initially in a simulated environment and then in an on-the-job situation. Resources should include: a tender, boarding vessel and agency guidelines and procedures realistic scenarios for simulation exercises. |
Method of assessment | The following assessment methods are suggested: simulation exercises demonstration of water safety skills questions on water safety, agency guidelines and procedures. |
Guidance information for assessment | This unit may be assessed holistically with other units within a qualification. |
Range Statement
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included. | |
Factorsaffecting the boarding operation may include: | intelligence on the vessel, offenders or circumstances location of the target vessel type of vessel weather conditions. |
Type of vessel may include: | small commercial and recreational, such as marine scale trailer vessels and abalone dive vessels medium commercial and recreational, such as rock lobster, blue swimmer crab and small shark vessels, and non-trailer able recreational vessels large commercial, such as tuna tow and catch vessels, pilchard vessels and prawn vessels (with enclosed rear deck style) merchant vessels used for fishing, and as directed by other agencies, such as customs and police environment agencies, state or territory occupational health and safety (OHS) and environmental protection authorities. |
Boarding plan may include: | boarding equipment to be used contingency plans estimated time tender is likely to be in transit evacuation point number of people in the boarding party potential boarding points on vessel roles and responsibilities of boarding party safe work methods to be applied type of boarding anticipated. |
Type of boarding may be: | compliant, where master of vessel assists with the boarding and vessel inspection non-compliant, where there is no assistance afforded to the boarding party opposed, where the boarding is physically opposed. |
Boarding points may be: | a cutaway aft quarter stern. |
Boarding equipment may include: | agency approved clothing and footwear camera and video for digital record of evidence communication equipment (e.g. such radio) helmet, goggles, gloves and boarding jacket with PFD PDE (e.g. handcuffs and Oleo-Capsicum (OC) spray) personal equipment (e.g. notebooks, hat and sunscreen, and food and water) sounder, GPS, vernier, rule and other devices as may be required for inspections spotlight and batteries for night boarding. |
Visual inspection of vessel may include: | estimating speed of target vessel estimating the length and height of target vessel number of crew on board observing gear, such as deployed nets and pots that may be obstacles selecting the most suitable location for boarding. |
Tender preparations and checks may include: | pontoons filled with air and no leaks sufficient fuel in tank and reserve. |
Responsibilitiesrelevant to role may include: | boarding team role: board and secure vessel carry out inspection following agency guidelines and procedures maintain situational awareness at all times bowman role: positions self in bow and helps maintain balance during boarding and loading equipment assists others with vessel boarding and disembarking monitors vessel for danger monitors ocean swell may be part of the boarding party coxswain role: leads boarding party in charge of tender: launch from master vessel approach of vessel to be boarded positioning for boarding signify when safe for boarding party members to board given swell. |
Commands and signals may include: | 'climb' (start climbing to board or disembark) 'hold' (do not start, or hold position) 'landslide' (emergency evacuation) 'muster' (return to assembly/disembark point as soon as possible) 'no duff' (cease exercise - listen up). |
Personal fitness includes: | coordination for tasks, such as climbing ladders videoing from tender or ladder deploying OC spray strength to: hold or lift body weight deploy ladders climb with equipment assist other crew when acting as bowman a sense of timing and quick reaction time to: climb a ladder or transfer to a vessel with swell and tender movement avoid falling objects spatial orientation to be aware of crew, dangers and gear flailing about in the swell and wind maintaining balance on: rolling decks of vessel to be boarded rolling tender on its approach to vessel ladder moving side to side of the vessel |
Onboard inspection includes: | attending the wheelhouse and explaining inspection process to skipper mustering vessel crew to determine crew numbers, fisheries officer safety and to protect evidence following boarding and inspection guidelines and procedures used for vessel berthed at wharf. |
Disembarking actions may include: | accounting for boarding team members and all equipment securing equipment in tender retrieving ladder if deployed watching for obstructions and keeping clear of the vessel as the tender moves off. |
Sectors
Unit sector | Fisheries compliance |
Employability Skills
This unit contains employability skills. |
Licensing Information
Refer to Unit Descriptor