This Act aims at protecting the marine and coastal environment of Queensland, it consists of 17 Parts divided into 160 sections. The Act also aims at implementing provisions of Annexes of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, MARPOL, 1973. Given the limited jurisdiction of provinces in territorial sea, this Act only deals with discharges from ships that happen in the first three nautical miles of the territorial sea (sect. 11). Part 3 is dedicated to marine pollution strategies in general while Parts 4 to 8 cover the prevention of pollution, respectively, by oil, by noxious liquid substances in bulk, by packaged harmful substances, by sewage and by garbage. Part 9 concerns pollution that might occur in transfer operations of pollutants between ships.; Part 10 regulates reception facilities, Part 11 sets reporting requirements for certain incidents and Part 11A requires ship owners to have insurance that covers clean up costs and the costs of salvage or removal if the ship is abandoned or wrecked. Part 12 is dedicated to investigation, prevention, minimization and enforcement and it sets the powers of authorized officers under the Act. Part 13 deals with the recovery of expenses sustained by the State to implement the Act. Part 14 covers legal proceedings, Part 15 the administration of the Act and Part 16 contains miscellaneous provisions. The Act is completed by one schedule containing a dictionary of terms used in the Act.
Transport Operations (Marine Pollution) Act 1995.