Marine Safety
Marine pollution legislation fact sheet
About the new marine pollution legislation
The Northern Territory Marine Pollution Act and Regulations have now come into effect and aim to help protect our waterways from pollution from boats and ships.
If you spend time on boats or ships, you must familiarise yourself with the main points. You could be fined up to $260 000 (or up to $1.3 million for companies) if you don't do the right thing.
In general, the Act applies to NT coastal waters (within 3 nautical miles from the low water mark), including Darwin Harbour and the whole of the Beagle and Van Diemen gulfs.
This fact sheet provides information about the Act.
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It is illegal to dispose of any kind of plastic and oil in the ocean no matter how far you are from shore.
- It is illegal to dispose of any garbage, including food waste, within 3 nautical miles of the nearest land.
- It is acceptable to dispose of fish scraps overboard.
- When in doubt, you should store rubbish and oil until you are back on shore and can dispose of it properly.
- If you own or are in charge of a vessel 12 metres or longer, you must make sure the vessel displays a placard with information about the Act. The placard must be visible to crew and passengers in areas where garbage is usually generated. The placards are available from the Marine Safety Branch.
- The legislation is based on the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from ships (also known as the MARPOL 73/78). Before this legislation started, Commonwealth legislation applied.
- The Act applies to all vessels including dinghies, yachts and fishing vessels. It applies to every trip you make, regardless of the duration.
- Vessels greater than 400 GRT (approximately 30 metres) need to keep records of their oil management and garbage disposal. Record books are available from the Marine Safety Branch.
- You should report any pollution incidents in person or by phone, fax, telex, radio or urgent telegram. You can report pollution incidents by email, but must confirm it by one of the other methods. You need to report to Marine Safety Branch, The Harbourmaster in Darwin or Gove or the Port Superintendent in Alyangula Shipping Operations at Bing Bong, The Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Canberra, or Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services.
If you need to know more, you should contact the Marine Safety Branch of the Department of Planning and Infrastructure on 8924 7100 or by email at marinesafety@nt.gov.au.