Unprecedented numbers of flares seen at RYA Northern Ireland disposal event

The Northern Irish sailing community produced an unprecedented 4000 expired marine flares at disposal events held at Portrush Yacht Club, Bangor Marina and Lough Erne Yacht on Saturday 15 June.

RYA Northern Ireland organised these events in conjunction with the PSNI as The Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) voluntary flare disposal service stopped in December 2022 and as there is no commercial disposal service currently available in Northern Ireland for marine distress flare disposal.

This has been problematic for boaters as it is illegal to dispose of flares at sea, illegal to dump them on land and illegal to let them off in anything other than an emergency.

It is also vital that there are adequate disposal facilities are provided for boaters as improper disposal of marine flares can be dangerous or cause harm to the environment. Shockingly, the oldest dated flare to be handed in at last Saturday’s events dated back to 1965.

Until a long-term solution is found, this Marine Distress Flare Disposal event was organised during Police Marine Safety Week. Following the flares’ collection by the PSNI, they will be stored in a unit with their explosives department and then an external company will come and take them with any fireworks or explosives to a site in England to be disposed of safely.

Following the day, Inspector Stephen Burke of the Police Service's Explosives Blasting Unit said: “Our thanks to all who came along on the day, the RYA and other organisers behind these disposal events over three locations in Bangor Marina, Portrush Yacht Club and Lough Erne Yacht Club on Saturday.

“These flares can now be properly and safely disposed of, allowing people to replace them with more reliable versions.”

Inspector Burke added: "You should never use flares that are expired or damaged. Nor should you dispose, discard or dump flares anywhere, whether at sea or on land. Flares are explosive devices. Anyone possessing a flare is responsible for it until it has been used or properly disposed of in the appropriate way such as at one of these disposal days."

On top of the vital work carried out by the PSNI, RYA Northern Ireland volunteers were crucial to the success of the day.

These were;

• Julian Morgan, Jackie Patton, Isabel Hood (RYA Northern Ireland Cruising and Environment Committee)
• Jill Heron, Susan McKnight, Roy Totten (RYA Northern Ireland Board)

If anyone could not avail of the flare disposal event on Saturday, you can email ExplosivesDistricts@psni.police.uk to arrange a disposal.  

The PSNI wish to remind boat owners that ‘Written Police Consent’ must be given prior to the purchase of Marine Distress Pyrotechnics.

To apply for this consent, please find application via this link: www.psni.police.uk/sites/default/files/2022-08/Firearms Form 31-9 - Application for consent to purchase or acquire.pdf  

Completed applications or queries should be e-mailed to: ExplosivesDistricts@psni.police.uk .