Replacement work completed on Northern NSW navigation marker

by Roads and Maritime Services on 18 Apr 2013 Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) Acting General Manager Commercial Vessels and Infrastructure Patricia Bryant today announced the cost of recent flooding to northern NSW waterways is still being counted with more than $114,000 in work to replace navigation aids completed.

'Since flooding in February and March, RMS has identified and replaced 175 navigation aids such as buoys and channel markers which were found to be ‘off station’ and not marking a navigation hazard or channel,' Ms Bryant said.

'This system of buoys, poles and lights is used to help safe navigation and guide boating traffic on our waterways.

'While RMS works year round to maintain the thousands of navigation aids on State waters, work generated after flooding on the north coast is unprecedented.

'Navigation aids were swept ‘off station’ due to increased water levels, the speed of the water flow and the volume of debris building up on mooring apparatus.

RMS has reinstated navigation aids on the following waterways:

• Tweed River – 5
• Bellinger and Kalang rivers - 17
• Clarence River - 13
• Hastings River - 47
• Macleay River - 41
• Manning River - 20
• Nambucca River - 25
• Hunter River - 7

'Members of the public who find a navigation marker out of location should call 131256. RMS Boating Safety Officers work with contractors at Australian Maritime Systems to replace these as soon as possible,' Ms Bryant said.

For more information on safe navigation and general boating safety, go to www.maritime.nsw.gov.au.