The Port Marine Safety Code (PMSC) (commonly referred to as ‘The Code’) was first published by the Department for Environment, Transport and Regions in 2000 in response to lessons learned from the grounding of the Sea Empress oil tanker at St. Ann’s Head, Pembrokeshire, and the 26 recommendations made by Lord Donaldson of Lymington, all of which were accepted by Government.

Re-issue of The Code has occurred in the intervening years, with a major update by the Department for Transport in 2016 to widen The Code’s scope to include all Marine Facilities alongside Harbour Authorities under the title ‘Organisations’.

The Code is owned by the Department for Transport, with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) overseeing its delivery. The Code remains, as it always has been, the UK national standard for safe port marine operations.

The updated ‘Ports & Marine Facilities Safety Code’ (PMSC)

The Code is newly refreshed and relaunched as the ‘Ports & Marine Facilities Safety Code’, still abbreviated to PMSC. The 2025 update is the culmination of a review initiated in 2023, extensive industry consultation and review by the PMSC Working Group who represented a cross-section of Government, associations, maritime interest groups and ports.

The purpose of the Ports & Marine Facilities Safety Code

The ‘Ports & Marine Facilities Safety Code’ (PMSC), commonly referred to as ‘The Code’, sets out the UK National standard for every aspect of port marine safety. Its aim is to enhance safety for everyone who uses or works in the UK port marine environment, including those in marinas, boatyards and other marine facilities.

It is authored by UK Government, supported by the devolved administrations, and representatives from across the maritime sector. Whilst the PMSC is not mandatory, these bodies have a strong expectation that all harbour authorities and marine facilities will comply.

The 2025 PMSC update, like the 2009 and 2016 iterations, does not contain any new legal obligations but includes, amongst other things, references to the main legal duties which exist in the maritime and ports sector.

Although failure to comply with The Code is not an offence, The Code represents good practice. If an Organisation declared compliance with The Code but is subsequently found to have failed to meet that standard, it may suffer significant reputational damage.

Changes in the Ports & Marine Facilities Safety Code 2025

The main changes to the 2025 Code relate to its structure and clarity of wording. The 2016 Code had four chapters; the 2025 Code has been restructured into ten chapters to match the ten key measures for successful implementation of The Code:

1. Duty Holder
2. Designated person
3. Legislation
4. Duties and Powers
5. Risk Assessment
6. Marine Safety Management System
7. Review and Audit
8. Competence
9. Plan
10. Conservancy Duty

The ten key measures from the 2016 Code are unaltered, with the exception of measure number 10 which is now ‘Conservancy Duty’. In the 2016 Code, this was ‘Aids to Navigation’. The 2025 Code’s ten key measure still includes Aids to Navigation but this now resides as a sub-section in Chapter 10, ‘Conservancy Duty’.