Boating: Sewage

(asked on 18th April 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department made of the legality of the effect of sewerage discharge from leisure boats on the environmental health of (a) the ocean and (b) Portsmouth Harbour.


Answered by
Nusrat Ghani Portrait
Nusrat Ghani
Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
This question was answered on 25th April 2019

The Department for Transport has not undertaken an assessment of the effect of the number of pump-out sewerage facilities available to leisure crafts on the amount of untreated sewerage waste entering the ocean.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is responsible for the regulation of the prevention of pollution by sewage from ships. These regulations apply to ships engaged on international voyages over 400 gross tonnage and ships less than 400 gross tonnage which are certified to carry more than 15 persons. This means most leisure craft fall outside these regulations.

However, environmental awareness is promoted to the recreational boating sector through voluntary best practice such as the Green Blue created by British Marine and the Royal Yachting Association. Typically, marinas provide suitable facilities for their users, promoting environmental sustainability.

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