Reporting ship sourced pollution
Report Maritime Oil and Chemical
Spills Immediately
National 24 hour emergency notification
contact details
If you witness a vessel polluting, you can report the incident to AMSA or the local port/marine/transport authority. Please provide relevant details of the incident such as when and where the incident occurred, the name of the vessel, type and extent of pollution and any other information which you may think pertinent.
While ships are permitted to dispose some types of waste at sea, there are strict requirements relating to the type of waste and the distance from land where the disposal may take place. All pollution sightings should still be reported and Authorities will determine whether the discharge/disposal is illegal.
The following pollution activity should be reported:
- Any quantity of oil. If oil can be seen then it is likely to be an illegal discharge. Oil includes waste oil, fuel oil, sludge, lube oil and additives etc
- Any discharge from a ship involving washings of chemical or dry cargoes
- Any plastic material
- Garbage disposed of in the sea within 12nm of land (garbage includes food, paper, bottles etc)
Pollution should be reported to:
Australian Search and Rescue (AusSAR): Rescue Coordination Centre
- Local Telephone
- 02 6230 6811
- International Telephone
- +61 2 6230 6811
- Freecall (Australia wide)
- 1800 641 792
- Facsimile
- 02 6230 6868
- Telex
- +7162349 (computer connected)
- Rescue Coordination Centre
