What does the latest health check report tell us about Port Marine Safety Code compliance across the UK?

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) recently released a Port Marine Safety Code health checks report. The report findings cover 28 checks carried out by the MCA’s officers at ports, harbours and marine facilities in all four nations of the UK. It covers the three year period 2021-2023 in line with the Port Marine Safety Code (PMSC), the national standard for port marine safety.

Insights include:

• The MCA report that “no particular PMSC related themes or challenges emerged”, however, marine facilities (non-statutory status) are highlighted, especially where the facility is within the jurisdiction of a Statutory Harbour Authority (SHA).
• The MCA comment that SHAs and Marine Facilities need to work towards “engaging positively with one another to confirm PMSC compliance”, a theme that the current (2016) Code draws out in its executive summary.
• It is further commented that SHAs and Marine Facilities should “ensure that Marine SMS’s are in place and are complimentary to one another’s operations”. 

The statistical summary from the PMSC Health Check Finding report is particularly interesting; laid out in 10 topics matching the current (2016) Code, the report notes that:

• The largest count of non-conformity and observations is with adherence to “Duties and Powers” (14%). This implies that SHAs and Marine Facilities may not be following all National legislative requirements, or aspects of their own local Acts and Orders. 
• Four topics share the second largest count (11% each), with: Legislation, Marine SMS, Competence and Plan. It is interesting to note that ‘Marine Safety Plan’ has been identified with a higher count, as typically this aspect has been delivered through each Organisation’s public facing engagement strategy, business plan or dedicated marine safety plan. 

Detailed findings identify that:

• The role and identity of Duty Holder was not published, which was particularly prevalent amongst municipal ports.
• Lack of awareness and understanding of the full range and responsibilities by Duty Holders (tours, visits, operational briefings, etc).
• In some locations, a lack of a suitably qualified Designated Person and inability to demonstrate independence of the role. 
• Local Acts and Orders (legislation) was not periodically reviewed to address the current needs of the Organisation. 
• A lack of awareness from officers of the authority, on duties and responsibilities – including no enforcement policy.
• Risk assessment received few notes; however, one trend identified the lack of suitable Dynamic Risk Assessment (DRA) processes. 
• In some cases, Marine Safety Management Systems (MSMS) were basic, with absent information and lack of periodic review.
• On the topic of Competency, it was noted that some locations did not have a suitably qualified Deputy to cover periods of absence for key roles, and some demonstrated a lack of succession planning.
• Marine Safety Plans were found to be absent, and where present, lacked published reports on the plan’s performance. 

The Health Check Finding report also draws out best practice, including:

• Examples of continual awareness training for the Duty Holder.
• Increasing use of experience and suitably qualified Designated Person. A variety of methods used, including reciprocal and external bodies. 
• Local legislation reviewed by marine lawyers on a period basis. 
• Despite the focus on ‘Duties and Powers’ as an underperforming area, there was recognition of an improved general level of understanding around the duties and powers.
• Marine risk assessments were found to be, generally, fully listed and regularly reviewed for marine operations with navigational hazards clearly identified separately.
• A welcomed increased awareness of and access to the MSMS by all members of staff.
• Where available, training matrices where the subject of regular review and were kept updated.
• For published Marine Safety Plans, these had clear commitments to continuous improvement including details of performance against previous plans.
• Aids to Navigation were regularly inspected with deficiencies being addressed promptly. 

The MCA conclude by encouraging industry to take account of the issues raised, along with the findings and enhancements mentioned in its summary report. Noting how these may be applied proportionately to their Organisations. Best practice can similarly be shared to enhance overall safety, productivity and efficiency. Sharing the knowledge ensures that best practice becomes embedded into the culture of the Organisation.

Read the full PMSC Health Check Findings 2021-2023 report at GOV.UK

Prepared by Monty Smedley, ABPmer Associate Maritime Consultant

ABPmer’s maritime risk specialists are dedicated to helping ports and other marine operators meet the requirements of the Port Marine Safety Code, regularly developing and auditing Safety Management Systems.

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