The UK has modernised hovercraft oversight so these craft now face the same environmental and safety regime as ships. The Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) (Amendment) Order 2025 was made on 15 October and takes effect from 16 October across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, updating the 1989 framework to reflect today’s pollution controls and investigation powers.

In practical terms, the Order applies long‑standing merchant shipping laws to hovercraft by substituting references to “ship” with “hovercraft”. That includes UK rules implementing MARPOL on air emissions, oil pollution, sewage, garbage and the carriage of noxious liquid substances, alongside port waste reception duties. It also refreshes casualty investigation provisions and aligns safety powers with the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

Why it matters is straightforward: emissions from vessels disproportionately affect people living and working around ports and estuaries. Government data show transport produced 49% of the UK’s domestic NOx in 2023, while national air pollutant statistics attribute around 11% of total NOx emissions to shipping alone. NGO analysis indicates ships in several UK ports, notably Southampton, can emit more NOx than all local cars.

On air quality, hovercraft are now captured by the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008, which enforce fuel sulphur limits, engine standards for NOx and controls on onboard incineration. Within Emission Control Areas such as the North Sea, a 0.1% sulphur cap applies and Tier III NOx standards bind new builds; the Mediterranean SOx ECA’s start in May 2025 underlines the direction of travel.

For the water environment, the Order confirms hovercraft must comply with modern discharge bans and management requirements covering sewage and garbage, and deliver waste to port reception facilities before departure. Masters must keep the relevant records and plans, while ports are required to provide adequate reception capacity and publish charging schemes to discourage disposal at sea.

Oil and chemical pollution controls also bite. The Order applies the 2019 oil pollution regulations and the 2018 regime for noxious liquid substances in bulk, aligning hovercraft with the core spill‑prevention and enforcement toolkit used across UK waters. In short, the same expectations placed on ships for containment, documentation and penalties now extend to hovercraft operations.

Two administrative updates will help regulators keep pace. First, section 302 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 is applied, allowing fees for actions taken in relation to hovercraft, such as certification. Second, section 306A enables “ambulatory” references so future international updates to conventions flow through automatically for hovercraft, avoiding gaps as standards evolve.

The measure cleared parliamentary scrutiny over the summer and was considered in the House of Lords Grand Committee on 10 September. The Department for Transport presented it as a tidying‑up step to ensure the full suite of maritime powers applies where appropriate; no full impact assessment was prepared on the basis that no significant costs are expected.

For port towns, especially those with regular hovercraft activity or scientific survey work in intertidal areas, the changes should reinforce near‑shore protections already cutting pollution from shipping. Campaign groups are urging complementary action-such as shore‑side power and zero‑emission berths-to clamp down on at‑berth exhaust, measures the government has been exploring through calls for evidence on extending Emission Control Areas.

Operators should expect the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to enforce the same standards as for ships: compliant fuels in ECAs, certified engines, current garbage and sewage documentation, and timely delivery of ship‑generated waste to reception facilities. With the Order now in force, the policy signal is clear-hovercraft are part of the solution space for cleaner coasts, not an exception to it.