Eight sea deaths spark life jacket rule change call

A state coroner has led calls for life jackets to be made mandatory following the shocking deaths of eight men in boating tragedies. Paul and Thomas Eckert, Alan Bottrill, David Neave, Rodney Ingram, Peter Martin, Roger Walker and Victor Kent all lost their lives in South Australian waters between March 2024 and January 2025. Their deaths have sparked state coroner David Whittle to call for the state to set a national precedent by “introducing an obligation to wear a life jacket when aboard any motor vessel up to 7m in length”. After concluding an inquest touching all eight deaths, Mr Whittle urged authorities in South Australia to lead the way with a new policy on the use of life jackets. In his findings, he wrote: “Having reached the conclusions I have about the likelihood of survival if life jackets had been used, I am satisfied that each of these people should have addressed the real risks they faced by wearing a life jacket.” Mr Whittle made a series of recommendations to Transport Minister Emily Bourke, calling for stricter rules on the lifesaving garments. “South Australia should lead the nation by introducing an obligation to wear a life jacket when aboard any motor vessel up to 7m in length,” he said. “This obligation should not be restricted to when the vessel is under way.” He made further recommendations, calling for adaptations to be made to the boat operator licensing theory and the Boat Safety Handbook to include updates surrounding life jacket use. He added: “I offer my condolences to the loved ones of the eight people who lost their lives in these four incidents. “It is my sincere hope that highlighting the circumstances of their deaths can bring about positive change and an improvement to the future safety of all those who love and derive pleasure from the sea.” Mr Whittle’s findings relate to the four incidents on South Australian waters in March 2024, August 2024, November 2024 and January 2025 respectively. Father and son Paul and Tom Eckert, 73 and 40, died alongside close friend Mr Bottrill, 71, off the coast of Port Lincoln in March 2024. The trio were swept away when a freak wave capsized their vessel. World-renowned professor Danny Eckert, 44, and his 12-year-old son survived the accident after being discovered clinging to a reef in freezing waters some 12 hours later. The bodies of the three victims, however, were recovered shortly afterwards, with the tragedy unfolding near Spilsby Island, off Port Lincoln. In August of the same year, two professional fisherman drowned after their 4.8m vessel was found overturned off Kangaroo Island’s Cape Cassini. Mr Neave and Mr Ingram, both 65, were experienced boatmen and fished professionally, with their tragedy described as “unexpected and sudden”. In November 2024, another experienced fisherman died in a South Australian waters. Mr Martin, known to his loved ones as Pedro, was 77 when he was found in the water at Eyre Peninsula. The alarm was raised after Mr Martin’s 4.75m boat did not return on schedule after he set off to check craypots. And in the final tragedy covered by the inquest, best friends Mr Walker, 82, and Mr Kent, 69, drowned after their vessel capsized off the waters near Beachport in January 2025. A previous hearing was told the pair’s craypot rope became entangled in the boat’s propeller, causing it to overturn in the water. “One thing that arose quite clearly during the inquest was the erratic behaviour of the ocean swells, particularly where they are affected by reef systems which may or may not be visible from the surface,” Mr Whittle said. “It is the nature of the sea, when we engage with it, to confront us with hazardous conditions and situations which are not predicted. “Seven of the eight who died, as well as those who survived, did not have time to put on life jackets during the emergencies which confronted them. “This highlights the importance of recreational boaters wearing life jackets at all times when enjoying the sea because when emergencies arise, it may well be too late to put them on.” Following the coroner’s recommendation, a spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure and Transport in SA, said: “Marine Safety SA, part of the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, promotes the importance of boating safety education and equipment, including life jackets. “The department will consider the findings handed down today by the coroner. “No changes to lifejacket requirements would be made without consultation with key stakeholders including the boating community.”