Disposal of vessels at sea

The Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981 (Sea Dumping Act) controls the disposal of vessels in the sea. If you wish to dispose of vessels in the sea, you need a sea dumping permit.

Past permits have included:

• Sinking apprehended vessels when the vessel is unseaworthy or incapable of being moved to an Australian port. This includes:
  • vessels that are a quarantine risk
  • those used for illegal foreign fishing
  • those suspected of carrying illegal entrants.
• using the hulks of ships for live-fire military weapons practice.

The permits the Minister (or delegate) grants ensure that the vessels are properly prepared for dumping and disposed of at appropriate sites. They also prevent significant adverse impacts on the marine environment and other marine users.

Selecting disposal sites

Disposal sites should be in deep water and far away from coastal communities. Disposal sites should not occur in marine parks or in areas frequented by other marine users, including shipping and trawling.

You must also minimise disturbances to the environment and bio-physical and ecological processes. These include:

• marine fauna migration routes
• spawning and breeding areas
• underwater mountains, canyons and trenches
• reefs
• shoals
• cays
• islands.

A preferred sea disposal site is:

• at a location with waters at least 2,000 metres deep
• at least 50 nautical miles (nm) from the coast
• at least 20 nm from the nearest historic shipwreck, sub-sea cable, pipeline, oil/gas well, reef, seamount, bank or shoal.

The site would also be clear of normal shipping routes, active marine fauna migration routes and breeding areas.

Material preparation

Before they are dumped, the vessel must be cleared of any materials or contaminants that could pose a risk to the environment, safety or Australia’s quarantine rules.

These include pollutants and floating materials that could be eaten by marine life, that marine life could be tangled in or that could be hit by other vessels.

Be aware that pollutants and buoyant material s can be released when the vessel’s structure is damaged. This can occur when the vessel is being moved or breaks down after it has been immersed in water for a long time.

The vessel must be prepared to ensure that it sinks rapidly and to minimise potential breakage.

Other approvals

In some cases, you may need to consider other Australian Government laws in parallel with the Sea Dumping Act. This includes fisheries, customs and quarantine legislation. Sea dumping activities may also require approval under Australia’s national environment law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Permit application form and fee

If your activity requires a permit under the Sea Dumping Act, you must submit an application.

The application fee for a permit to dump vessels at sea is $12,700 per vessel.