Common marina and vessel activities pose a risk of harm to the environment and human health.
A vessel includes a boat, ship or any water-going vehicle.
Heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons and other chemicals are necessary for vessel:
- cleaning
- refuelling
- operation
- maintenance and repair.
This includes:
- lead in fuel used in marine engines and released through exhausts and boat bilge water discharges
- copper and tin compounds used in antifouling paints
- zinc used to prevent corrosion
- solvents, acids and alkalis from spills and polluted stormwater
- detergents.
Marina and vessel activities and the law
Under the Environment Protection Act 2017 and Environment Protection Regulations 2021 marina and vessel operators have duties and obligations.
The general environmental duty requires you to minimise risk of harm to human health and the environment from pollution and waste so far as reasonably practicable. This includes risks that may arise from marina and vessel activities.
You must meet waste obligations and duties when managing industrial waste from marina and vessel activities. For other waste, contact your local council for municipal waste services.
If your activities pollute marine or surface water, the duty to respond to harm caused by pollution incident may apply.
Under the Environment Protection Regulations 2021, it's an offence to discharge or deposit waste produced or located on a vessel into surface or marine waters – except in some specific circumstances.
Under the Pollution of Waters by Oil and Noxious Substances Act 1986, ships are prohibited from depositing oil and garbage into Victorian waters, except in limited circumstances.
Penalties apply for not meeting these duties and obligations.
Other legislation relating to marina and vessel activities are:
- Port Management Act 1995
- Marine Safety Act 2010
- Commonwealth legislation, including the Convention and Biosecurity Act 2015.
EPA guidance
Our role in marina and vessel activities
We regulate:
- the management of pollution and waste from marinas and vessels
- activities that pose a risk to marine and surface water environments.
Impact of marina and vessel activities on your health and the environment
Heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons and other contaminants are toxic to marine life. They become incorporated in sediments and can remain until mobilised by being physically disturbed. For example, by dredging.
Heavy metals build up in aquatic organisms. This means the concentrations of lead, zinc and copper in shellfish can be unsafe for you eat.
Bacteria and nutrient concentrations can be increased by:
- sewage
- in-water hull cleaning of vessels for pest management.
Vessels arriving from other areas of Victoria, from interstate or overseas can carry undesirable living organisms on their hulls or in bilge water. These organisms can severely and permanently affect the ecology of an area.
Recreational use of water – such as swimming and fishing – can be impacted by:
- bacteria that can cause infection and illness
- nutrients that cause unwanted and damaging weed and algal growth.
Bacteria and nutrients can impact businesses, such as shellfish farmers.
To maintain high environmental performance, each marina should create an environmental management plan. This plan should include:
- a summary of operations and their environmental effects
- details of plant operating procedures that impact the environment
- a waste management plan that outlines ways to reduce waste, reuse or recycle when possible, and dispose of waste safely
- strategies to minimise discharges from marinas, comply with GED, and use best techniques and technology along with other legal requirements
- a program to monitor the marina's environmental performance
- a dredging strategy that ensures minimal environmental impact
- measures for continuous improvement in environmental performance related to marina activities.
Updated