NEWS We have revised the dates for our June 2012 Harbour Masters Course to avoid clashing with the Queen's Jubilee dates. Our 2012 Harbour Masters courses will now take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. By avoiding Fridays we will be able to spread the lecturing more evenly through the three day period. A one to one and a half day seminar for DUTY HOLDERS and DESIGNATED PERSONs is now available; please ask for information. THE HARBOUR MASTERIncluding The Legislation Tree, National Occupational Standards The Port Marine Safety Code and Environmental Issues The 3-day workshop-based course for Harbour Masters and all those involved in any way in port marine operations. So far well over 150 harbourmasters, dockmasters, QHMs, VTSOs etc have attended this course. Feedback includes such comments as: "Best course I have been on in 5-years with this company" "This course should have been around 15 years ago"
Our next courses will take place on the dates shown below and will be normally held at the National Oceanographic Centre in Southampton. We are planning that one or more of the 2012 courses to be held on a more UK-wide geographic basis. Please watch this space for more news, but meanwhile we would like to hear from any organisation that would be interested in hosting a course in 2012. HM13: Tuesday 14th to Thursday 16th February 2012 HM14: Tuesday 29th to Thursday 31st May 2012 HM15: Tuesday 2nd to Thursday 4th October 2012 The course fee for 2012 will be £995 + VAT. To book or for further information, please contact Peter Bingham at IDG Maritime (pbingham@idgmaritime.com or 01797 229000).
The Legislation Tree, rooted in the 1847 Act, breaks the Port Authority's and Harbour Master's powers and duties into manageable proportions.
Origin of the Course:
The concept of the course originated from strategic planning with Associated British Ports, who recognised the need to benchmark best practice and to identify the ways in which the Ports Industry can ensure that its needs for qualified marine personnel can be met. Aims: To refresh the knowledge and understanding of the UK maritime legislative environment of Harbour Masters, their deputies and other marine professionals with harbour master responsibilities, and their statutory duties and roles as integral parts of the port management team.
Objectives: To continue the Professional Development of Harbour Masters, their deputies and assistants, pilots and VTSOs, as well as other relevant marine professionals, Designated Persons, Duty Holders, Port Managers and Board members, with particular reference to: - Relevant key legislation – duties and powers under the Port Marine Safety Code;
- Port Marine Safety Code compliance;
- The development of National Occupational Standards by government and the UKHMA;
- Port safety management systems;
- Accident prevention and investigation;
- Environmental framework;
- Port safety and emergency planning;
- Marine operations;
- Commercial considerations/drivers.
To establish common competency requirements for the marine departments and identify future training needs. To test the interface between commercial and marine professional decision-making culminating in a tabletop exercise. Structure of the Course:
The course is designed as a facilitated exchange of knowledge and experience. IDG and North West Kent College Maritime Operations and Logistics facilitators will work with external speakers, including representatives from MCA, MMO and MAIB, to help the participants identify, agree and own best practice – a ‘best practice’ that will enable ports and harbours to meet the PMSC’s criteria for continuous improvement . A table-top exercise on Day 3 will allow participants to test and consolidate their knowledge. The Port Marine Safety Code and its associated Safety Management System is an essential element of the safe and efficient operation of every British port. This is not just a matter for the Harbour Master and the Marine Department but for every member of the Port Authority whose duties and responsibilities arise from ‘The 1847 Act’. The course aims, therefore, to refresh and update knowledge and understanding of the UK maritime legislative environment and its practical application within the port environment. Specific objectives are: The course has been designed by IDG Maritime in association with Associated British Ports. The workshop facilitators include experienced harbour masters and a practicing marine lawyer. The MCA, MMO and MAIB also support the programme. The workshop is divided into five sessions: Session A: This addresses port-related law in a new and innovative way, based around the Legislation Tree shown above. Starting with the 1847 Act, the development of port and marine legislation is explored and the way in which law is made is explained, from Acts of Parliament to Harbour Bye-laws. The importance of a port’s relationship with its stakeholders is explained and the main duties and responsibilities of a Harbour Master are identified.
Session B: This is the heart of the course, where the PMSC and its Guide are introduced and discussed, with particular reference to Safety Management Systems. This session includes a presentation by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and its approach to ensuring continuous improvement is explained. Major considerations for Harbour Masters are their qualification and training to a suitable national standard as required by the PMSC. This session introduces the PMSC concept and the National Occupational Standards which are being developed by the Government and the UK Harbour Masters Association. A competence matrix accompanies the course work book. Session C: Powers of Direction, both General and Special, are explained, and their origin and development traced from the 1847 Act to a port’s own ‘Special Act’. The Port Authority’s and the Harbour Master’s specific powers, duties and responsibilities are identified. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch explains the approach that it takes to accident investigations, using current examples of incidents in UK ports, and relates this to the ways in which risk assessments are undertaken within a port’s SMS. Session D: Environmental law has grown at a bewildering speed and this session addresses this aspect of a port’s responsibilities and duties from a practical and pragmatic standpoint. The session also covers the port’s interface with local and national emergency plans and the emergency services, and explains the relationship between the Health and Safety Executive, MCA and MAIB. The MMO and a port environmentalist describe their interactive roles. Session E: Three branches of the Legislation Tree are covered in this session. Conservancy, including dredging, aids to navigation and hydrographic surveys, is covered, again in a pragmatic and practical way. Then the session takes a look at the port as a commercial operation (a commercial undertaking as envisaged by the 1847 Act) and the workshop discusses how commercial pressures can be balanced with safety requirements within the port’s Safety Management System and explores how risk assessment can assist this process. The various branches of the Legislation Tree are then brought together in the section on Port Operations, which concludes with a short SMS exercise. Session F: Our maritime ‘legal eagle’ gives his views on arrest, detention and on limitation of liability, and gives practical advice on accident investigation and on taking evidence. The central event of Session F (Day 3) is a table-top exercise. This ‘Bad Hair Day’ for the Harbour Master involves the whole port management team as well as some of the port’s external stakeholders. Finally we return to the Competencies Matrix to see if the course has changed any ideas on the importance and priorities of the competencies set out in the PMSC Guide. The courses are held at the National Oceanographic Centre in Southampton’s Eastern Docks. The course is recommended as a residential course because the interaction between harbour masters, marine personnel and port managers from different ports forms an important part of the overall course.
The course was designed by IDG Maritime in association with Associated British Ports who provided input into sustainable port development and operations, and by Maritime Operations and Logistics at North West Kent College. Specialist input is provided by lawyers Hill Dickinson as well as by contributions from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Marine Accident Investigation Branch and the Marine Management Organisation. Quality control and certificate award is by Maritime Operations and Logistics at NW Kent College.
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