BPA: Ignore port marine safety compliance at you peril
With a month left of the deadline of the ‘second chance call in’ for this year’s UK Port Marine Safety Code compliance exercise, the British Ports Association has called on all UK ports, harbours and marine facilities yet to participate, to report through to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, as a priority.
By ignoring this call, port duty holders could at least be setting a dangerous precedent, or at worst demonstrate a lack of competence to manage their port’s safety systems.
Commenting, Richard Ballantyne Chief Executive of British Ports Association, which represents over 400 ports and facilities around the UK, said:
“The Port Marine Safety Code has evolved into a vital resource and compliance demonstrates a port’s ability to limit and control their operational safety risks. As well as allowing operators to assess and manage safety arrangements, the PMSCand the three yearly Compliance Exercise provides the government with the knowledge that individual ports and marine facilities are being managed responsibly and competently.
There is now one month to go in this additional period to participate in the exercise. We want to see as many operators as possible indicate their compliance to help maintain safe port activities around our coasts.”
In recent years the Code’s coverage has expanded beyond the traditional UK port authority and now includes other entities such as individual terminals and marinas. There have also been challenges for some smaller local authority owned ports understanding all the relevant issues. Getting the message out to these facilities is important so as to ensure safety management is as comprehensive as is possible across our industry.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Ports and VTS Policy Manager, James Hannon, who leads on PMSCcompliance, suggested port duty holders across the UK still had time to indicate their compliance: . . . .
. . . . continue reading g the article on the British Ports Association website here
