Our Rescue Vessels

Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie operates four fully equiped, commercially surveyed emergency services search and rescue vessels. Our patrol boats and RWCs (Rescue Water Craft aka jet skis) are on call 24/7/365 in support of the New South Wales boating community and under the direction of the NSW Police Marine Area Command.

Lake Macquarie 30 (LM30)

Lake Macquarie 30, call sign “LM30”, is a 10m Naiad RHIB purpose-built for Marine Rescue NSW in Yamba NSW. LM30 is powered by twin Suzuki outboard motors and is equipped with the latest technology for Search and Rescue operations including a full Raymarine suite of navigation equipment, FLIR (forward-looking infrared camera), radar and sonar and a dedicated crew station for an on-scene commander. LM30 operates up to 30 NM offshore with a minimum crew of 3, or anywhere on the lake.

Lake Macquarie 31 (LM31)

Lake Macquarie 31, call sign “LM31”, is a 8.5-metre Naiad RHIB also purpose-built for Marine Rescue NSW by Yamba Welding and Engineering in NSW. LM31 is powered by twin Suzuki 250HP outboard motors and is capable of reaching speeds up to 42 knots.

LM31 features an axe-head bow capable of handling heavy bar crossings, a full Raymarine suite of navigation equipment, FLIR (forward-looking infrared camera), radar and sonar. LM31 can rapidly deploy up to 30 nautical miles offshore with a minimum crew of 3, and has excellent manoeuvrability on the lake.

RWCs Lake Macquarie 10 (LM10), Lake Macquarie 11 (LM11) and Lake Macquarie 12 (LM12)

Our Rescue Water Craft (also known as jet skis) are an important part of our fleet which enables our unit to respond quickly to any incident on the Lake and particularly the bar at Swansea Heads. They can go into shallow water to pass a tow-rope for one of our larger vessels, take a jumpstart pack to a stranded vessel with a flat battery or use their rescue sled to safely transport a rescued person out of danger.

We have three RWCs, all 3.4m Sea-Doos equipped with a full set of safety and rescue equipment, and operated by a highly-trained volunteer.