Fisheries and Marine Officers, patrolling the ocean off Perth’s northern suburbs now have a faster, more flexible, vessel to carry out their compliance work.

The powerful new 12.5 metre boat, named the PV Waterman, was built at Henderson by Kirby Marine Fabrications and has been specifically designed to meet the wide variety of tasks required for Fisheries and Marine Safety patrols.

Department of Fisheries’ North Metropolitan Compliance Manager Todd A’Vard said the new vessel provided a much safer working platform for patrol officers who would be required to carry out compliance work in difficult weather conditions.

“It easily handles the worst weather the 'Fremantle Doctor' can throw at us, can cruise at 30knots fully laden with six crew and has enough range to go well offshore,” Mr A’Vard said.

“But, importantly, it has outstanding manoeuvrability. It can turn within its own length and also has a very shallow draught to deal with inshore compliance issues.

“The community has a high expectation that we will monitor compliance of the State’s fish laws closely and enforce the marine safety rules as well and this boat vastly improves our capabilities.

“It has also been given a name to honour one of the coastal areas it will serve that also has a connection with departmental history. In 1908, fisherman Alfred Waterman built the first house in modern day Waterman and for many years the Department of Fisheries operated a research facility on the coast at Waterman before its current research centre was established at Hillarys.

“PV Waterman, which will be based at Hillarys, will generally operate between Wedge Island in the north to Fremantle in the south and also conduct patrols through the Marmion Marine Park, to ensure the special rules that apply there are being followed.”

Mr A’Vard said the new $482,000 vessel replaced an aging patrol boat that faced limitations in certain situations and poor weather and ocean conditions.

“When you are inspecting and boarding other vessels at sea, the design of this aluminium fabricated rigid inflatable has clear safety benefits, when it is alongside other boats at sea and it is also capable of working rock lobster fishing gear and carrying out numerous other tasks out on the water,” he said.

“PV Waterman is a much faster vessel than the patrol boat it replaces, which will be very useful in case of any emergencies we assist in or in responding to reports of shark sightings or marine incidents along the coast in Perth’s northern suburbs.”