Marine Operations Code for Ports: Bulletin No.1 (December 1998)

Bulletin No.1 - December 1998

There is widespread interest in the development of a Marine Operations Code for Ports, following recommendations in the Department's review of the Pilotage Act. This is the first of a series of monthly bulletins which the Department intends to issue to report progress. Copies will be made available on request. They will also be found on the Department's web-site (www.shipping.dtlr.gov.uk/pilotage/bulletins/index.htm), along with a summary of the report of the review.

Background

The review of the Pilotage Act 1987 followed a Marine Accident Investigation Branch report on the Sea Empress. The report's main proposal was that a "Marine Operations Code for Ports" should be developed, covering all port safety functions, and not just pilotage. This should serve as a national standard - among other things for training and examination of pilots as proposed by MAIB, a guide to best practice, and a framework for the preparation of published policies and plans by harbour authorities in consultation with local users and other interests.

It is hoped to make substantial progress with the Code by mid-1999.

Progress to Date

The report of the review was published in July, and presented to representative bodies on 10 September. It was also the subject of a seminar on 26 November, arranged by the Nautical Institute (from whom papers are available).The report of the review, and the proposal to develop a Code have been generally very well received.

The Nautical Institute seminar was a very successful event, with papers demonstrating that the proposed approach to safety assessment in ports could draw upon well-developed techniques already tested in the ports industry.

Reservations expressed so far on the report are mainly from pilots, although the Association is committed to working positively with the Department on the Code.Two meetings have been held with the UK Pilots Association (Marine). A detailed briefing was given to the Association's Executive Committee on 9 October; and a question and answer session held at their annual Conference on 19 November.

The Department has offered similar briefings to other representative bodies: there is provisional agreement to meet the UK Harbour Masters Association in the Spring. Opportunities have also been taken to brief overseas Administrations (in Australia, Canada, Eire, Holland, Spain and Sweden so far).

Formal Safety Assessment and Passage Planning

Several papers have been submitted on formal safety assessment and passage planning, which may prove to be addressed by the Code. It is planned to convene meetings in the New Year of individuals experienced in these matters to discuss the approach to be used in the Code, including the appropriate level of detail.

Training

Discussions have opened with the British Ports Industry Training Organisation, who are considering plans to develop a comprehensive technical standard in support of the Code, and whether this might also eventually underpin a qualification in port navigation. A paper to the Nautical Institute seminar also showed that the Maritime Institutes are addressing the implications of the Code for their syllabuses. The Department plans to meet them shortly for a briefing.

Meetings with Representative Bodies

The Department hopes to hold a second meeting with representative bodies at the end of January. In addition to reporting progress generally, it hopes to table a background paper on the statutory responsibilities of harbour authorities for safety matters, and to arrange presentations from BPIT on training and technical standards, and from the Nautical Institute on their incident reporting procedure.