It was shortly before 7pm on Australia Day when police from the Marine Area Command and Public Order and Riot Squad boarded the Seven Star. On the private charter police allegedly discovered cocaine, methylamphetamine, and various tablets, while the majority of the drugs are believed to have been thrown overboard when water police arrived. Arrests and charges are expected. There is no suggestion Mr Elias was associated with any criminal activity on vessels owned by his company. Police are also investigating the events of last Saturday when the body of Shalina Abdul Hussien was found inside a confined toilet on the Lady Rose.

Within hours, Fire and Rescue HAZMAT crews recorded toxic and "extremely hazardous" levels of hydrogen sulphide on the vessel; a suspected gaseous byproduct that can occur from sewage waste in the holding tanks of a cruise boat. The Lady Rose is among a fleet of boats owned by All Occasion Cruises, of which Mr Elias is the sole shareholder and a co-director. The Lady Rose party boat. Credit:Seven News Sources have told the Herald the woman may have been overcome by the toxic gas while she was in the toilet cubicle. Police investigations are continuing and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

HAZMAT crews arrive at the All Occasion Cruises moorings to conduct further testing on Tuesday. Credit:Lucy Cormack It prompted a raid by Roads and Maritime Services compliance officers on Tuesday, on five other vessels moored at 37 Bank Street, Pyrmont. It is understood they identified issues with "sewage disposals" on some of the vessels, giving the company two weeks to rectify the problems. A spokesperson for All Occasion Cruises declined to comment “until all facts are known”. There is no suggestion Mr Elias had any involvement in the operation of the boat on the day or was responsible for the woman’s death. Both events have sparked fresh calls from residents for the state government to reconsider the approved proposal for Mr Elias' Blackwattle Bay Marina Pty Ltd (All Occasion Cruises) to relocate to 5-11 Bank Street.

It was the one topic on the lips of locals in Pyrmont's pubs this week. "They're basically saying the marina at Bank Street cannot go ahead," said Mary Mortimer, Pyrmont local and convenor of the Ultimo and Pyrmont associations and community group Save Blackwattle Foreshore. "The minister for planning has to overturn the decision to allocate that space to Blackwattle Bay Marina Pty Ltd (All Occasion Cruises) for a commercial marina." The history behind the proposed marina dates back to 2009, when All Occasion Cruises was controversially awarded a $15-20 million tender to build a marina at 100 Pyrmont Bridge Rd, Blackwattle Bay, by then-Labor ports minister Joe Tripodi. Clockwise from top ... The Wildboys Afloat website, Joe Tripodi and Joe Elias. Credit:Andrew Quilty, Dallas Kilponen

Mr Elias, a friend of Mr Obeid's son Eddie Obeid jnr, had grand plans for the site, including a large function centre. He won what should have been a two-stage tender at the first hurdle, when NSW Maritime's then-chief executive Steve Dunn (since found to have acted corruptly on an unrelated matter) dismissed all other bidders. But the development never happened and by 2016 Mr Elias had a windfall in his sights. A $250 million redevelopment of the new Sydney Fish Market was announced, forcing Mr Elias, who held both a lease and a tender over the Blackwattle Bay site to find a new home, and 5-11 Bank Street quickly became the offering. As a local Ms Mortimer spent 11 years working on plans for a promised community parkland area at the very same Bank Street site.

Then in 2014 plans were approved for a publicly accessible foreshore walkway and a marina at the site, to be used by the Sydney Heritage Fleet. An artist's impression of the eastern entrance of the new Sydney Fish Market. "But the boats were to be small, used infrequently and only during the day. Then, because the government had already approved the water base part of the development ... they simply extended that approval for All Occasion Cruises," Ms Mortimer said. The deadline for All Occasion Cruises to leave the Pyrmont Bridge Road site was June 30 last year. Since then the company’s fleet has been moored at 37 Bank Street, after its owner offered to take them in, due to a shortage of commercial berths.

Another Pyrmont resident, Neville Monk, said the community felt the decision "was orchestrated just to get Joe Elias out of Blackwattle Bay ... to make way for the new fish market". "When it was the heritage fleet it was an advantage, it was to have a museum, and the boats rarely left the dock ... this is an entirely different proposal, done on the basis of a modification rather than a new development application." NSW Planning and Environment finalised the approval for the development, subject to conditions, shortly before Christmas last year. Under the agreement All Occasion Cruises would have exclusive use of the site for five years. Should it go ahead, Ms Mortimer said the community would be robbed of the parkland it was promised, only to be left with "noise, traffic and excessive waste".

"Large boats so close to the Glebe Island Bridge would endanger other shipping and passive boats, particularly dragon boat racers," she said. Chair of The Glebe Society environment committee Asa Wahlquist said locals only needed to remember the company's former site at 100 Pyrmont Bridge Road. The original 100 Pyrmont Bridge Road site where All Occasion Cruises was based. "It was an absolute tip. [Mr Elias] made all these promises ... he never delivered. And yet the government runs around and asks us to help the company relocate to a place where the community does not want them," she said. "Is this the sort of company that deserves that kind of patronage from the government?"