Sector

Marinas: destroying berth holder data

30 July 2026 · 10 min read · DeSnipperaar

A marina processes more personal data than it first appears. Berth contracts with name and address, boat owner data, vessel and registration numbers, the membership and subscription register of the sailing club, payment and deposit data and CCTV footage of the pontoons. Part falls under the tax retention obligation, part you keep only as long as the relationship runs. This guide shows, by part, what you keep, when it may go and how to destroy it confidentially.

The quick answer: the financial administration you keep for seven years, the rest no longer than necessary for the berth and its settlement. CCTV footage you keep briefly. What may go disappears confidentially and with a certificate as proof.

Two frameworks: business administration and GDPR

At a marina two things run together. The tax retention obligation requires you to keep the administration around berths, invoices and deposits for seven years. Alongside this the GDPR applies, which requires not keeping personal data longer than necessary. The tax obligation sets the floor for the financial records, the GDPR the ceiling for anything that makes a person or a vessel identifiable.

So treat the data per type. A berth contract has a different status than a loose note about a boat owner or a CCTV image of the pontoon. If you make that distinction, you keep exactly what you must and clear out the rest on time.

Retention periods by part

The period differs per type of data. The overview below gives the main line. Count the tax period from the end of the financial year and the other periods from the end of the berth or the membership.

Part	Starting point	Period
Invoicing and administration	Tax retention obligation	7 years
Berth contract	Until settlement and tax	purpose-bound + 7 years
Vessel and registration data	Tied to the berth	as long as the relationship runs
Membership and subscription register	While a member, then clear out	purpose-bound
Deposit and payment data	Until refund and tax	purpose-bound + 7 years
CCTV footage of pontoons	Storage limitation	a few weeks

Use this as a guideline, not a fixed law for every case. When in doubt, consult your accountant or privacy adviser. The tax side is explained in the 7-year tax retention obligation.

Berth contracts and boat owner data

The berth contract is the heart of your administration. It contains name, address, contact details and often the vessel or registration number, tied to a payment and sometimes a deposit. The financial side falls under the tax seven years. The personal data itself you keep as long as the berth runs and as long as a dispute over settlement can still arise. After that the ground lapses and you clear out the contract.

Pay particular attention to the loose copies that pile up outside the system. A printout at the desk, an old visitor book, a sheet with rates and names. Those papers do not belong in the paper bin but in a sealed container, ready for confidential destruction.

Club, members and subscriptions

Many marinas run partly on a sailing club with its own membership register. Member lists, application forms and dues data are personal data that you keep no longer than the membership runs. Former members too disappear from your active administration as soon as the settlement is complete. How you clean that up works the same as at other clubs, described in destroying member admin at sports clubs in line with the GDPR.

At a board change, lists and files often pass from hand to hand. Hand over only what the new board needs and have the rest destroyed confidentially, so no shadow archive stays at a former board member's home. The same approach applies to member lists and personal data at a board change.

CCTV footage on the pontoons

Pontoons and access gates are often fitted with cameras against theft and vandalism. That footage is personal data and falls under the GDPR. Keep it briefly, usually a few weeks at most, unless a concrete incident justifies keeping it longer. Record who has access to the footage and overwrite or destroy it afterwards. The full rules are in CCTV footage: retention period and destruction.

How to handle it in 6 steps

1. Split the data into administration, contracts, member lists and CCTV footage.
2. Keep the financial records for seven years from the end of the financial year.
3. Clear out contracts and vessel data as soon as the berth has been settled.
4. Clean up the membership register after the membership ends.
5. Collect what may go in sealed containers, not in the paper bin.
6. Have it destroyed confidentially with a certificate and record it in your register.

Destroy confidentially with a certificate

Boat owner data is destroyed confidentially, because it contains identity, payment and sometimes deposit data. The paper and any data carriers travel sealed and stay that way until destruction, so the chain is closed. An old harbour master's computer or backup with a member file belongs with it too.

Afterwards you receive a certificate of destruction with the date, quantity and level. That certificate is your proof towards the GDPR that you acted carefully. Record the destruction in your record of processing. We collect within 20 km of Amsterdam with no call-out charge, work nationwide through pooled collection rounds and charge a fixed price per box or roll container. Drop-off on site is not possible; it works by appointment through collection.

Common mistakes

• Keeping old contracts forever. After settlement and the tax period the purpose lapses.
• Letting vessel data lie around loose. Printouts at the desk belong in a sealed container.
• Keeping former members in the active administration. Clean those up after the membership ends.
• Keeping CCTV footage too long. Keep it briefly and then overwrite or destroy it.
• Throwing away unshredded. A member list on the street is a reportable data breach.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a marina keep berth contracts?

The financial side of the contract falls under the seven-year tax retention obligation, counted from the end of the financial year. Once a berth has been ended and settled, you keep the personal data no longer than necessary to settle any disputes.

May I keep vessel registration data indefinitely?

No. Vessel and registration data belong to the berth and the contract. As soon as that relationship ends and the settlement is complete, the ground to keep them lapses. Keeping them indefinitely does not fit the storage limitation of the GDPR.

How long do I keep CCTV footage of the pontoons?

You keep CCTV footage briefly, usually a few weeks at most, unless a concrete incident justifies keeping it longer. After that the footage is overwritten or destroyed and you record who had access to it.

How do I destroy berth holder data in line with the GDPR?

Confidentially and with a certificate of destruction. Paper and data carriers travel sealed and stay that way until destruction. You record the destruction in your record of processing as proof.

Conclusion

A marina works with identity, payment and registration data of every boat owner, between the tax retention obligation and the GDPR. Keep the administration for seven years, clear out contracts and vessel data as soon as the berth has been settled and clean up the membership register after the membership ends. CCTV footage you keep briefly. What may go you have destroyed confidentially with a certificate as proof. That way you meet both frameworks and protect your marina guests' data.

Read also: swimming pools: destroying member data, riding stables: destroying customer data, animal shelters: destroying owner data and the GDPR retention periods cheatsheet.

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Have berth data collected? Request a quote via desnipperaar.nl. Within a few minutes you have a fixed price, including a certificate as proof.