Boats on fire, water rescues, vessels capsizing and jet skis colliding are just some of 840 incidents the Water Police Squad has been called to in just four months.
New figures show it's been busy for the squad - reinforcing the message for locals and visitors to the state's waterways to do their part in following the rules this Easter holiday.
Water police responded to 840 incidents between November 2025 and March this year.
Around 520 of the callouts related to vessel collisions or vessel sinkings and almost 100 related to people being in trouble on the water and needing to be rescued.
Other callouts related to dangerous jet ski behaviour including speeding and travelling too close to other swimmers, injuries occurring on boats and jet skis, as well as mechanical failures.
The Water Police Squad responded to several incidents involving boats on fire with most occurring inland including Lake Eildon, Lake Bunga, Lake Maran, Bonnie Doon and Lake Nagambie.
Thankfully, none of the incidents resulted in anyone suffering significant injuries.
Water police responded to multiple jet skis collisions - either jet skis colliding into other jet skis or jet skis colliding into boats.
These occurred in areas including Carrum, Barwon Heads, Dromana and Gippsland - leaving dozens of people injured.
The 840 callouts resulted in more than 300 infringements being issued - most for jet ski behaviour.
Boaties, jet skiers and kayakers putting others at risk will be of focus throughout Easter as water police team up with local units to conduct proactive patrols both inland and along the coast.
Water police will have a presence at key areas across Port Phillip Bay including inner Melbourne beaches and Hastings, the Mornington Peninsula, Surf Coast, Paynesville and inland areas including Lake Eildon.
Police will converge on boat ramps to conduct breath tests and licence checks, as well as carry out vessel inspections to ensure operators have the required safety equipment on board such as lifejackets, torches and fire extinguishers.
The law requires boat users to wear a lifejacket on a powered vessel up to 4.8m, when travelling solo, and at heightened risk.
It is mandatory for jet skiers and kayakers to wear a lifejacket at all times, yet police are still seeing people without them. Children aged under 12 must also wear a lifejacket at all times when in open areas of a vessel.
The Water Police Squad will use police boats and jet skis to enhance its visibility on the water.
The Water Police Squad continues to work closely with Safe Transport Victoria, Parks Victoria and the Victorian Fisheries Authority to enforce marine safety, as well as Life Saving Victoria and marine rescue volunteers to respond to search and rescue incidents and enhance safety on the water.
Quotes attributable to Water Police Squad Inspector James Dalton:
"It's been a busy past few months - with 840 incidents and more than 300 infringement notices issued for offences on the water.
"We've seen far too many boats capsizing or catching on fire, jet skis colliding into other jet skis or boats, rescues of people getting into trouble on the water, as well as jet skiers travelling way too close to other swimmers and vessels and approaching shore at high speed.
"That's why we will have a bolstered presence right across the state over this Easter holiday to ensure everyone is following the rules and playing their part in staying safe.
"People heading out on the water need to remember that a split-second decision can have lifelong consequences.
"We don't want a day out on the water to end in tragedy - so please wear a lifejacket, respect the safety of other water users and carry the mandatory safety equipment."
