Life jackets are life savers - that's the message from the 2011 Marine Incident Report released yesterday.
There were 14 fatalities on Queensland waterways last year, according to a state government report out this week, which calls for boaties to wear life jackets.
Transport Minister Scott Emerson said the report was a timely reminder for all boaties to wear life jackets.
"In nine of the fatalities, eight people ended up in the water and drowned and were not known to have been wearing a life jacket," Mr Emerson said.
"This is disturbing and shows how important such a simple floatation device can be in saving your life."
The report showed there were two fewer fatal incidents than the previous year but still the same number of deaths on Queensland waters.
"Only two of the 12 fatal marine incidents might reasonably be attributed to misfortune," Mr Emerson said.
"Alcohol was also known to be involved in at least two separate fatal marine incidents.
"Of the remaining 10 incidents, better trip planning, situational awareness and more appropriate responses to changing circumstances could have reduced the chance of a fatality occurring."
Mr Emerson said the marine incident report provided valuable lessons.
"Boaties should ensure they carry all required safety equipment including Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs), life jackets and flares and check that all their equipment is up to date," he said.
"Check the weather before heading out and tell the local Volunteer Marine Rescue where you are going, as well as when you're due back.
"Skippers should keep a proper lookout and remember the same under 0.05 rule for drink driving applies on the water as on the road."
Maritime Safety Queensland's Marine Incident Report 2011 was tabled in Parliament and is available at www.msq.qld.gov.au.
Reported incidents:
• 819 marine incidents were reported - 117 of these incidents reported damage to vessels occasioned by cyclones.
• The remaining 702 reported incidents equated to 285 marine incidents per 100,000 registered vessels.
• 48 per cent of the vessels involved in these 702 marine incidents were being used commercially, 47 per cent recreationally and 5 per cent were used in a hire and drive setting.
• The most common incidents were collisions (37 per cent), capsizing, flooding and swamping incidents (18 per cent) and groundings (15 per cent).
• About 1 in 13 of the 702 incidents resulted in a fatality or serious injury.
• 12 fatal marine incidents occurred in 2011 resulting in 14 deaths - 5.7 fatal incidents for every 100,000 registered vessels.
• Capsizing, flooding and swamping incidents represented only 18 per cent of all the incidents reported in 2011 but 36 per cent of the recorded fatal incidents.