Maritime Transport Act 1994

Wreck of ships and aircraft - Duties on wreck

126: Foreign wreck subject to duties as an importation

You could also call this:

"Wrecked goods from overseas are treated like imported goods and you must pay duties on them."

If you bring wrecked goods into New Zealand from another country, you have to pay the same duties as if you were importing them. The chief executive of the New Zealand Customs Service decides where the goods come from if there's a question about their origin. They make this decision after investigating.

The chief executive of the New Zealand Customs Service can let you send goods that were saved from a stranded or wrecked ship or aircraft to their original destination. They can also let you return goods to the port where they were loaded if the ship or aircraft was on its way out of New Zealand. However, you have to give security to make sure the revenue is protected.

When the law talks about "goods", it means anything that was on the ship or aircraft, including the cargo, machinery, and equipment, as well as any other property that belongs to it.

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This page was last updated on 25 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM336429.

125: Fees to be paid to Receiver, or

"Paying fees to the Receiver: a old maritime law that is no longer used"

127: Penalties, or

"What happens if you break the maritime rules: fines and prison time"

Part 9Wreck of ships and aircraft
Duties on wreck

126Foreign wreck subject to duties as an importation

All wreck, being goods brought or coming into New Zealand from a place outside New Zealand, shall be subject to the same duties as if the same was imported into New Zealand, and if any question arises as to the origin of the goods they shall be deemed to be the produce of such country as the chief executive of the New Zealand Customs Service may on investigation determine.
The chief executive of the New Zealand Customs Service may permit all goods saved from any ship or aircraft stranded or wrecked on its homeward voyage to be forwarded to the port of its original destination, and all goods saved from any ship or aircraft stranded or wrecked on its outward voyage to be returned to the port at which they were laden; but the chief executive of the New Zealand Customs Service shall take security for the due protection of the revenue in respect of those goods.
In this section, the term goods includes any part of any ship or aircraft and the cargo, machinery, and equipment thereof, and any other property belonging thereto.

Compare

1952 No 49 s 370

Notes

Section 126(1): amended, on 1 October 1996, pursuant to section 294(3) of the Customs and Excise Act 1996 (1996 No 27).
Section 126(2): amended, on 1 October 1996, pursuant to section 294(3) of the Customs and Excise Act 1996 (1996 No 27).