MAST Joins the Safer Boating Forum – Working Together for Safer Waters
- Jul 9
- 2 min read
MAST Academy is proud to announce that we are now an official member of the New Zealand Safer Boating Forum (SBF), strengthening our commitment to improving boating safety across Aotearoa.
For many years, MAST has supported New Zealand's marine industry by developing the skilled people who build, maintain, repair, and service the vessels used on our waterways. Joining the Safer Boating Forum is a natural extension of that role, allowing us to contribute our expertise in education and training to help create safer boating communities.
Established in 2000, the Safer Boating Forum brings together government agencies, industry organisations, educators, and community groups to implement New Zealand's recreational boating safety strategy. Its work focuses on addressing the four leading contributors to recreational boating fatalities: lifejacket use, the ability to communicate distress in an emergency, poor weather-related decision making, and alcohol.
The Forum also leads the delivery of the Recreational Craft Harm Prevention Strategy 2026–2031, which recognises that reducing harm on the water requires a collaborative approach involving industry, government, educators, communities, and recreational boat users.
For MAST, membership provides the opportunity to collaborate more closely with organisations such as Maritime New Zealand, Coastguard, regional harbourmasters, Water Safety New Zealand, local authorities, and industry partners to support national boating safety initiatives.
As an organisation that trains the people who build and maintain boats, we believe we also have a responsibility to help educate those who use them. By contributing our knowledge of vocational education, practical training, online learning, and industry engagement, we can help raise awareness, promote safer boating practices, and support initiatives that reduce preventable accidents and fatalities.
Every boating fatality is one too many. Through our involvement with the Safer Boating Forum, MAST is proud to contribute to a shared vision of safer waterways and a stronger boating safety culture for all New Zealanders.
