Dear Ministry for the Environment,
Dear Ministry for the Environment,

This is a request under the Official Information Act 1982.

I have geo-located a vessel producing significant visible plumes over New Zealand, with coverage large enough to potentially influence local weather. To clarify the scope of my request, I seek information on monitoring responsibilities in both New Zealand’s territorial waters (within 12 nautical miles) and the Exclusive Economic Zone (12–200 nautical miles).

Specifically, I request:

1. Any monitoring systems, datasets, or responsibilities the Ministry (or other agencies) has regarding ships entering New Zealand’s territorial waters (within 12 nautical miles) that produce atmospheric emissions, plumes, or cloud formation.
2. Any monitoring systems, datasets, or responsibilities the Ministry (or other agencies) has regarding ships operating in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone (12–200 nautical miles) that produce atmospheric emissions, plumes, or cloud formation.
3. Any reports, datasets, or records held by the Ministry relating to ship emissions or plumes observed in either zone.
4. Any legislation, regulations, or policy documents that assign responsibility for monitoring or oversight of ships producing atmospheric emissions or cloud coverage in either zone.
5. Any correspondence between the Ministry and other agencies (e.g. EPA, Maritime NZ, NIWA) relating to ship emissions, plumes, or cloud formation in either zone.

If any of the above categories of information are not held, please confirm this explicitly under section 18(e) of the Act. If information is withheld, please specify the precise section of the Act relied upon, as required under section 19.

Yours sincerely,
Nigel

Yours faithfully,

Nigel Gray