Equipment donated to units in Shoalhaven, Jervis Bay, Sussex Inlet and Uladulla

Life saving equipment called Jon Buoys have been given to the Shoalhaven, Jervis Bay, Sussex Inlet and Ulladulla Marine Rescue units.

Two of the buoys have been given to each unit.

Jervis Bay Marine rescue Unit Commander Kevin Hill said the buoys were only small, but they were valuable and versatile.

"They'e a one-man life raft for a man overboard situation, but we also recognise the versatility of being able to lift a person out of the water and getting them securely onto the vessel," he said.

"We don't know what we're going to be confronted with each time we go out, but this has made such a big difference, and it has made it so much better for us as volunteers to save lives on the water."

Mr Hill said a recent incident showed the importance of having Jon Buoys as part of the Marine Rescue arsenal of equipment.

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"These Jon Buoys are so much more important than just man over life rafts because recently we were involved with Sussex Inlet with their rescue water craft, their jetskis, there were two people that were washed off the rocks," he said.

"We responded in JB41, they came in their jetskis from Sussex Inlet, and in the pitching, rolling seas there was a potential need for us to transfer a defibrillator or an oxygen bottle but they couldn't get close enough to the vessel because it was pitching and rolling - there was a real danger of them being injured."

But the Jon Buoys would have allowed personnel on JB41 to simply place the oxygen bottle and defibrillator on one of the life rafts so it could be towed safely to shore and used to help save lives, Mr Hill explained.