Marine dumping
If you want to scuttle a boat, this is called "dumping". If you want to dredge the marina and put the dredged sand somewhere else at sea, this is also called dumping. In fact, any waste or other matter that is deliberately disposed into the sea is called dumping.
Dumping anything into the sea from a ship, boat (or any other kind of craft), aircraft or offshore installation is controlled by regional councils under the Resource Management (Marine Pollution) Regulations. These are national regulations established by the Ministry for the Environment on 20 August 1998, and administered by regional councils.
Anything that is disposed of, deliberately or not, from shore, is controlled in the Regional Coastal Plan. See Restrictions on use of the coastal marine area, and discharges to the environment.
Dumping into the sea from ships, aircraft and offshore installations
Section 4 of the Resource Management (marine pollution) Regulations requires a coastal permit to dump certain things into the sea from any ship, aircraft, or offshore installation. These things are
(a) Dredge material:
(b) Sewage sludge:
(c) Fish processing waste from an onshore facility:
(d) Ships and platforms or other man-made structures at sea:
(e) Inert, inorganic geological material:
(f) Organic materials of natural origin:
(g) Bulky items consisting mainly of iron, steel, and concrete.
This is a discretionary activity.
Section 4 of the Resource Management (marine pollution) Regulations prohibits people from dumping waste or other matter things into the sea from any ship, aircraft, or offshore installation unless the waste or other matter is something specified in that section (see above), or in section 8 ( oil spill clean ups), section 9 ( oil from ships), section 10 ( some noxious liquid substances), section 11 and section 12 ( sewage from ships and offshore installations), section 13 ( garbage), section 14 ( ballast water) or section 15 (associated with normal operations of a ship or offshore installation). All these other discharges must comply with conditions stated in the section.
These regulations came into force on 20 August 1998.