Our Environment

Discharge of any effluent, rubbish or other pollutant into Marina waters is PROHIBITED. See our Marina rules for more information.

Fuel and Oil

Re-fuelling at the berth is prohibited. All refuelling must be carried out at the fuel jetty using the dispensers provided.

Most spills in our marinas come from everyday activities such as refuelling, engine emissions and oil leaks. You are responsible for ensuring no spills occur from your activities in our marina. There are spill kits available on our refuelling jetties in the marina. If you have a spill in the marina, it is imperative you immediately deploy spill response process to ensure you clean as much of the spilled substance as possible and let the Marina manager know.

Handy tips:

• Always refuel at a fuel pump, avoid the use of containers and do not overfill your fuel tanks.
• Ensure you have absorbent material nearby when fuelling, or lay it down around the fuelling site.

Fun fact: A single litre of fuel can contaminate over a million litres of water and form a 4000m² slick.

Useful information and guidance for pollution prevention can be found in Maritime NZ’s information here: Every Drop Counts

Bilge water

Contaminated bilge water can be a major pollutant in marinas as it usually contains a mixture of contaminants such as engine oil, antifreeze, fuel, and metals. The activation of a bilge pump releases contaminated water into the marine waters and pollutes the natural environment.

If you inadvertantly release bilge water clearly contaminated by fuel, oil, antifreeze etc., immediately deploy the spill response process, and notify the marina manager.

Handy tips:

• Keep your bilge clean – regularly use absorbent pads to soak up any oil in your bilge water – this is both a risk to the environment and the safety of people onboard.
• Never mix detergent with oily bilge water; this mixture can be even more toxic than oil alone, and is very difficult to clean.
• Keep your oil filters contained while transporting them to the waste facilities.

Sewage management

Sewage spills into the marina pose risk to both human and aquatic life. They can be the source of disease outbreaks through direct contact with the water as well as eating shellfish from the contaminated waters.

Handy tips:

• The release of sewage into a marina is Use pump out facilities where possible, and try as best as possible to avoid discharging sewage offshore.
• As a last resort, see Maritime NZ’s guideline, for discharging offshore.

Grey Water

Discharge of any effluent, including Grey Water, is prohibited in our Marinas. Grey water includes; soapy water from boat galley sinks and showers as well as the dirty water created when washing a boat. Grey water is made up of several pollutants, which, when released, have a negative effect on the environment.

Handy tips:

• When washing the above-water areas of your boat use less cleaning products and more elbow grease.
• Use phosphate-free and biodegradable cleaning products
• Use facilities available on the shore where possible.

Waste management

All our marinas are fitted with adequate waste facilities to fulfil general waste disposal, recycling, aqueous and waste oil needs. We provide rubbish and recycling facilities, as well as some facilities for waste oil, and aqueous waste. If you have any questions about the locations of these facilities, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the friendly team at your marinas office.

Our marina bins are NOT for public use. The recycling and rubbish facilities provided in the marinas are for marina users and for boat rubbish only.

Household/Bach rubbish needs to be disposed at the Picton or Havelock transfer stations, or at the bins provided by the Marlborough District Council at the breastworks area in Picton Marina (under the coathanger bridge) or by the east side ablutions in Waikawa Marina.

POLLUTION is PROHIBITED in our Marinas. Under the “International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships” (MARPOL) , the dumping of any plastics into the ocean or navigable waters is PROHIBITED in New Zealand.

Handy tips:

• Bring back what you took out, as well as any rubbish you may have found out there.
• Gut fish and dispose of waste well offshore or consider land disposal. Remember all fish must be landed in a measurable state for MPI checks.
• Avoid the use of plastic bags. Opt. for reusable and recycling options
• DO NOT throw cigarette butts overboard.

Biosecurity

We go beyond the call of duty to protect the Marlborough Sounds Environment from invasive marine pests. All vessels wishing to come into our facilities which have visited Lyttelton harbour/marina, or a port or marina in Tauranga & north, in the past 12 months must comply with the 6 and one rule:

We require;

• All vessels coming from a high risk area to have been antifouled in the last six months, or lifted and washed in the last month.
• Please take photos of your boat before it goes back in the water, and keep receipts from your haul out or maintenance contractors as evidence
• Make sure your boat is well antifouled to manufacturer’s specifications, and check the hard to reach spots like keelbulbs, props and water intakes carefully.
• For new and returning customers, arrival in our regional waters, your vessel must have no more than light fouling (unless exempt). Light fouling means 1–5% of visible hull surface covered by macrofouling or filamentous algae. Usually the remaining area covered in slime.

Some resources on Marlborough regional biosecurity rules:

• Top of the South Marine Biosecurity Guides here.
• Top of the South rules and requirements here
• Information on invasive organisms here

Good practice in the meantime is to check your anchor, chain, dive gear and fishing gear every time, before you change locations. If you find something that might be a marine pest, don’t put it back in the sea – dispose of it onshore in the rubbish bin.