Marine Businesses for sale in Australia

No. AMSA states that a domestic commercial vessel certificate of operation is held by the owner or operator and is not transferable. You must apply for your own certificate or add the vessel to an existing certificate.

Check the unique vessel identifier, certificate of survey or exemption, operating conditions and registration where applicable. Match every document to the vessel and intended activity, and confirm surveys, renewals and modifications are current and correctly recorded.

Review the Marine Order 504 safety management system, risk assessments, drills, maintenance, incidents and passenger procedures. Verify crew certificates of competency, medical and fatigue arrangements, minimum crewing and whether qualified personnel will remain after the sale.

Check marina berths, moorings, fishing or tourism permits, protected-area permissions, landing rights and council approvals. Review assignment, vessel, route and operator restrictions, because access to water or customers can depend on separate non-transferable agreements.

Obtain an independent marine survey covering hull, engines, electrical systems and safety equipment. Review maintenance and defect history, confirm ownership and registration, search PPSR interests, and quantify refits or survey work required before continued commercial operation.

Match bookings, trip logs, passenger numbers and bank receipts, then calculate contribution after fuel, crew, berth fees, maintenance and commissions. Adjust for weather cancellations, seasonal routes, owner-skipping and downtime during surveys or major refits.