Following the grounding of the Sea Empress at Milford Haven in 1996 the DETR initiated a Review of the Pilotage Act 1987 which led to the issue of the Port Marine Safety Code (PMSC) by the DETR in March 2000.

The aim of the PMSC is to help harbour authorities to be seen to achieve and maintain nationally agreed standards for safe marine operations within their waters. It sets down a standard to which in future they should hold themselves accountable publicly.

To demonstrate compliance with the PMSC, and in the interests of transparency, each harbour authority must produce a periodic statement setting out the policy it has adopted for discharging its duty to ensure that marine operations in the harbour and its approaches are properly regulated; and reporting on the effectiveness of that policy and associated systems and procedures.

All harbour authorities are required to develop policies and procedures in accordance with the PMSC and should publish the policies and procedures they have adopted to achieve the required standard. Harbour authorities should also publish amendments to their plans. They should also publish reports of their formal periodic reviews, setting performance against their plans and against the standards set in the PMSC. These reports should be at not less than three-yearly intervals: additional reports may also be appropriate.

A harbour authority’s policies and procedures should include a statement of policy committing the authority to undertake and regulate marine operations in a way that safeguards the harbour, its users, the public and the environment.

Harbour authorities must develop a safety policy for marine operations within their jurisdiction. This requirement itself makes a contribution to safety by obliging those responsible to consider its importance, and the need for practical and formal safety systems. The policy should be published, both to demonstrate the authority’s commitment to the policy and also to ensure the involvement of harbour users. The management of any harbour under statutory powers should be based on a clear safety policy adopted by the harbour authority. Harbour authorities should make the following commitments:

• to undertake and regulate marine operations in a way that safeguards the harbour, its users, the public and the environment
• to manage the relevant assets of the authority safely and efficiently
• to discharge the duties and powers described in the PMSC
• to maintain relevant harbour equipment to agreed industry standards
• to recruit and train operational staff to nationally agreed competence levels
• to ensure that staff are properly trained for emergencies and contingencies.

GHT has formally resolved to meet these commitments and to that end has taken the steps and published the documents listed in the schedule attached. For full details the individual documents need to be consulted. GHT has consulted users of the Gloucester Harbour, through the Gloucester Harbour User Forum, on the production of its documentation and copies are readily available on GHT’s website. Copies are also available from the Trustees' office on request.

GHT is committed to reviewing its policies and procedures at regular intervals, in line with the requirements of the PMSC, to ensure that they are effective and efficient. It also has in place a system for reporting any accidents or incidents involving safety which will also trigger a review of the relevant policies and practices of GHT. The ‘designated person’ appointed by GHT will provide an independent audit of its documentation and procedures.

In accordance with the requirements of the PMSC, GHT announced its completion of the implementation of PMSC in December 2001. The most recent Statement of Compliance was provided to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in September 2005.

During November 2006 the annual review by the Trustees' Designated Person of their Safety Management System and Risk Assessment concluded that the Gloucester Harbour continued to meet the standards required by the Port Marine Safety Code.

 22 January 2007

Download Gloucester Harbour Trustees Safety Management Plan in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format (476Kb).