Marine Operations Code for Ports: Bulletin No.24 (November 2000)

Bulletin No.24 - November 2000

Port Marine Safety Code

The Port Marine Safety Code has now been published.

Copies of the Code (ISBN 1 85112 365 2) are priced at £10.

The publications home page contains information on how and where you can obtain publications produced by the Department for Transport.

Fax: 01079 881 673

It is also possible to view and download the Code from the Department's web site from the link at the bottom of this page.

Implementing the Code

The Department circulated to all CHAs at the end of June an enquiry about progress with implementing the Code.

A progress report was presented to representative bodies on 18 October which they are free to circulate widely and which will be sent in due course to all authorities responding to the June enquiry. Copies are available to others on request.

The industry reports that it is ahead of expected progress. Virtually every authority responding has already embarked on risk assessment and is confident at this stage of completing implementation by the end of 2001.

It appears that most authorities have adopted the approach of drafting an assessment as a basis for consultation, rather than basing the draft assessment upon consultation.

Effective consultation in the coming months will be important to the success of the Code nationally and locally: the Code emphasises the role here of those who work in the port and those who represent them.

Occupational standards

The national occupational standard for pilots was accredited in July. It has now been printed and is available from BPIT. Further work is needed on statements of generic and local knowledge to be published as a separate booklet. The group working on the harbour master standard did not meet as planned on 19 September and will do so on 10 November prior to releasing their draft for general comment.

Further details on this part of the project, and copies of available drafts, are obtainable from BPIT (e-mail info@bpit.co.uk).

The next step on pilotage standards (for authorisation and exemption) is to develop assessment criteria both for authorisations and exemptions. A meeting of some interested bodies will be held it is hoped by the end of November to review how this can be progressed. The Department hopes to provide that meeting with an analysis of present practice taken from unused material collected for the Review of the Pilotage Act.

Guide to Good Practice

The first draft of this document was circulated with a deadline for initial comments of 31 August. Copies may be down-loaded freely from the Department's web site.

Chapters on consultation and accountability have been added and the final one on environmental management has now been circulated to representative bodies.

The responses to the first draft was positive with a widespread view that the draft is well-pitched and serviceable.

The Department is now preparing a second draft which should be ready by the end of November. This will have a revised introduction explaining the role of the Guide more exactly its function is not prescriptive. It will also propose an altered layout closer to the Port Marine Safety Code and where this makes repetition of the Code apparent, the Guide will be abbreviated. Its main concern is that the present text (once reviewed) needs augmenting with varied examples of good practice. An appeal was made for these at the meeting of representative bodies and the port associations will consult members the BPA has already begun collating material.

Some of the concerns identified by authorities reporting progress arise from the better than expected progress to date authorities are running ahead of the development of the Guide to Good Practice. They are looking in particular for guidance on risk assessment, and on auditing of systems. One way of dealing with this is to prioritise these sections of the Guide but early examples would be better still.

Possible legislation

A further note on possible legislation will issue once a firm conclusion has been reached about the prospects and timing of a Bill.

As reported last month, the Department has also issued a consultation paper on port-related legislation, dealing with various corporate governance proposals in the reviews of pilotage and trust ports.

Copies are available from the usual contacts in Ports Division although the deadline for comment has passed.

Representative bodies

The last meeting of national representative bodies with whom the Department is working on this project was held on 18 October and the next one will be in the New Year.

Seminars

The Code project will be covered in a further trust ports seminar in Harwich on 7 November; at the UKHMA seminar in London on 1 November (which usually sells out); and at NUMAST's Ship Masters' Forum in Wallasey on 12 December.

Ports Division
Department for Transport,
Zone 2/29,
Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DR

Tel: 020 7944 5069
Fax: 020 7944 2188
e-mail: andrew.burr@dft.gsi.gov.uk