Marine Operations Code for Ports: Bulletin No.9 (August 1999)

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Bulletin No.9 - August 1999

This is the ninth of a series of monthly bulletins issued by the Department to report progress with development of a Marine Operations Code for Ports, following recommendations in the Department's review of the Pilotage Act. 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. Enquiries, contributions and comments (including e-mails) may be made to Andrew Burr, Colin Morris, Cameron Clark or Jackie Shaw at the previous address.

The Code project is in three parts:-

  • The Code itself, setting a standard for the discharge of duties and powers of harbour authorities
  • Competence Standards, for all disciplines managing the safety of port navigation
  • A Guide to Best Practice, giving operational guidance on the requirements of the Code.

The project is led by the Department with help from ad hoc groups of professionals from the industry.

Representative bodies are kept informed through periodic meetings at which key issues can be discussed. Attendance at these meetings - and support for ad hoc groups - is high. There have been three such meetings so far. The last was on 16 July, and this bulletin records the outcome; the next meeting is on 16 September.

The Code

A new draft of the Code was completed at the end of June and has been circulated to those who have been contributing to the project. It is available on request. Comments are invited on the new draft by the end of August. The main new elements in this draft are:

  • a draft preface
  • a modified style highlighting key points for each chapter
  • a revised chapter on safety assessment and management
  • a new chapter on directions including passage planning
  • new chapters on pilotage services and pilotage exemption

Chapters have to be drafted on -

  • harbour craft, including towage pilot launches, line boats, etc
  • performance measurement and audit.

Further ad hoc groups will be convened on these items during September.

Competence Standards

British Ports Industry Training is developing the competence standards. A steering group has met on 8 June and 21 July. Good progress has been made with the development of unit and element headings. The next meeting, on 29 September, will move on to performance criteria. Steering group members are also considering essential and local knowledge items.

This part of the project is concentrating initially on standards for marine pilots. There are substantial practical reasons for dealing with one disicipline first. However, the intention is to cover other disciplines. The work on this extension has yet to be planned but must start soon.

Best Practice Guide

A group of senior port managers has undertaken to assemble material for a best practice guide and met to review progress with the Department on 13 July. An outline prepared will be reviewed along with the draft Code, and proposals made by 31 August to harmonise the text and coverage. Examples of the detailed guidance will be prepared to the same timetable. The group is working in two sections. It has been enlarged to make it more representative, and available members will next meet on 15 September.

Consultation

It is hoped to have a complete draft of the Code for consultation by mid-October. The competence standards and the Best Practice Guide are planned to be in a form for wider consultation at the same time. The aim is to settle the text of the Code by the end of 1999, although the project is likely to run until Easter 2000.

The Department agrees that port board members need more information on the project, and to be more actively involved, especially given the emphasis on their role in the draft Code. This cannot wait until the draft is completed and is being progressed through the port associations.

Next Steps

The meeting on 16 September will include a substantive discussion on pilotage and pilotage exemption.

The meeting will address how much information authorities will have to publish on the assessments and plans required by the Code.

There will also be reports on the three project elements and on comments received on the draft Code. The planned timetable will be reviewed.

Presentations

A series of presentations is planned during the consultation period on the full draft of the Code (mid-October to end-November). Details will be given in a later bulletin. Additional suggestions will be considered particularly if they allow access to interests not otherwise well covered.