Harbour Pollution

A campaign to improve reporting and Departmental actions with regards to oil pollution in Isle of Man harbours has been launched.

This work is important to protect the harbour environment from unnecessary pollution.

We treat all personal information as confidential. We will not tell the person involved that you contacted us, but we will not be able to tell you what action is taken as a result of your information.

Did you know: one litre of oil or fuel can pollute over 1 million litres of water.

Help us to find the source and stop the problem. Use this page to find out pollution prevention tips and incident reporting.

Do's and don'ts

Below are some do's and don'ts that you can follow to help reduce the harbour pollution.

Do's

Place a drip tray or absorbent pad under the engine. If it starts getting oily, find and mend the leak
Check the engine bilge for oil before pumping and use an absorbent sock to remove oil and fuel in the bilge
Maintain your boat's fuel lines, connections and seals
Ensure you have suffcient number of suitable containers to remove/dispose of waste oil. Contact the Marine Operations Centre, your local harbour offce or gov.im/civic-amenity-sites
Ensure you have a spill kit on board to contain and absorb any pollutants before they enter the environment
Please dispose of contaminated waste at the appropriate disposal points
Use shore based toilets when berthed or install a holding tank
Avoid discharging the heads in or close to bathing waters or enclosed areas such as harbours, marinas where there is low flushing
Regularly use your boat to limit fouling, lift out, clean and anti-foul regularly to prevent the spread of invasive plants and animals. Use a wash down system to ensure fouling does not re-enter the water or collect and put it in a bin
In the event of a spill, you are legally required to inform the Harbour Master. Please do this via the Marine Operations Centre

Don'ts

Don't pump contaminated water into the harbour
Allow oil or other pollutants to enter the marine environment
Undertake maintenance without an oil spill kit or measures to contain pollutants