Marine Safety Knowledge Base

Whether you are on the water for work or for fun, every safe and successful trip starts with preparation and an understanding of the vessel, its equipment, the crew, and the conditions in which they will be operating.

Falls overboard are a leading cause of death among all boaters. Learn to how to recover a man overboard and how to prevent these accidents in the first place.

In an emergency, the right gear can make a real difference in the outcome. Personal flotation devices (PFDs), immersion suits, and survival craft can all help you to stay alive until help arrives.

Successful firefighting brings together knowledge, technique, and the right gear. Good safety practices can prevent fires. Hands-on practice with fire extinguishing agents can increase your effectiveness in fighting a fire by a factor of three according to researchers.

Know when to abandon ship, how to deploy your survival craft, get everybody aboard, and what to do once you're away from the boat.

Even the most careful skipper can have an unexpected onboard medical emergency. Do you know what to do?

Organize work stations and processes to avoid strains, repetitive motion injuries, and other musculoskeletal injuries.

"When a person knows what to do before a crisis situation, you don’t have to communicate; everybody just does it. Had we not known our stations, we probably would have lost a few guys."

Online resources, books and references, videos, and other materials related to safety at sea.

Get answers to frequently asked questions.

Videos on a variety safety of topics produced by AMSEA and other marine safety experts.

A list of online resources from around the country to help commercial fishermen and other mariners address this new operating environment.