Operators of large pleasure craft will face a practical test
Practical tests are to be introduced for pleasure craft operators, after decades of licences being given to people who may never have set foot on a boat.
At present, anyone who passes a written, multiple-choice exam and an oral test can be given a licence to drive speedboats or pleasure craft up to a maximum of either 20 metres or 13.7 metres.
But the Marine Department has come under increasing pressure to also introduce a practical test for the larger boats.
Marine police have expressed concern that many pleasure craft and speedboat drivers don't have enough knowledge or experience before taking to the water.
'Sometimes, when we want to speak to people on a vessel, rather than ask them to pull up alongside us, we'll send a smaller boat to go to them because we've found many can't handle their craft well enough to safely manoeuvre it alongside our police boat,' one officer said.
But the Marine Department noted that none of the pleasure craft involved in accidents in the past two years were driven by recently licensed or inexperienced users.