26 June 2017

Easier online jet ski registration tool launched

A new online tool for registering personal water craft (jet skis) being used in the Waikato region will be available from tomorrow from the regional council.

“With jet ski use in the Waikato increasing in recent years, we want to make it easier for people to get their skis registered in a way that saves both them and the council time,” said Waikato Regional Council’s maritime services team leader Richard Barnett.

The Waikato is one of a number of North Island areas that require jet ski registration. Auckland, Northland and Bay of Plenty also require registration. As long as a jet ski is registered with one of these authorities it will be able to operate in all four regions.

“Our region has a variety of waterways and coastal areas which experience a significant increase in traffic over the peak spring and summer period,” said Richard.

“Registration helps us understand how many jet skis are operating on our waterways and what resources we need to deploy to help keep users safe.”

Another advantage of getting a registration number is that it helps to identify jet skis if they’re stolen.

When people complete their online registration, they can signwrite the number on their jet ski themselves or receive a printed label from the council.

Registration numbers must be clearly displayed above the water line on both sides of the craft at all times, each number has to have a minimum height of 90 millimetres and numbers must be legible from at least 50 metres away.

Within 30 days of selling or disposing of a jet ski, people need to either transfer ownership or deregister it. Transfer and deregistration services will also be available online.

The online service will be available at www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/jetskis and the maritime services team is available to answer questions on 0800 800 401.

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