Marine Rescue NSW volunteers completed more than 4,500 rescues during demanding year on the water.
The Lake Macquarie region has been identified as the waterway where boaters are most likely to need assistance in NSW as almost a third of Marine Rescue NSW units across the state experienced record demand last year.
Fourteen of the 46 Marine Rescue NSW units across the state experienced record demand for volunteer services in 2025. The Point Danger, Nambucca, Lord Howe Island, Lemon Tree Passage, Newcastle, Norah Head, Tuggerah Lakes, Broken Bay, Middle Harbour, Sussex Inlet, Kioloa, Narooma, Bermagui and Eden units all recorded record demand.
There were 457 search and rescue missions including 226 emergency responses with 955 people safely returned to shore across all 7 Illawarra units – Port Kembla, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Jervis Bay, Sussex Inlet, Ulladulla and Kioloa.
Locations of highest demand were Port Kembla 124, Jervis Bay 120 and Sussex Inlet 71.
Marine Rescue Sussex Inlet set a new unit calendar year record with 71 search and rescue missions surpassing 60 performed in 2023 and 2024. Marine Rescue Kioloa set a new unit calendar year record with 8 missions surpassing 6 set in 2018.
