Industry Guidance documents

Port Marine Safety Code

The Port Marine Safety Code (PMSC) applies to all harbour authorities in the UK that have statutory powers and duties. It was developed with input from a wide range of interested parties in the ports sector.

The Code and accompanying guidance have recently been updated. The DfT are now placing greater emphasis on regular port input to keep the PMSC and Guide to Good Practice relevant and up to date.

The PMSC Guide to Good Practice supplements the Code and contains more detailed guidance on a number of issues relevant to harbour authorities. It is designed to provide general guidance and examples of how a harbour authority could meet its commitments in terms of compliance with the Code. This Guide should not be viewed as the only means of complying with the Code and for some harbour authorities, it may not be the best means of achieving compliance.

The refreshed PMSC document can be found here while the Guide to Good Practice is available here.

Port governance and management

The Department for Transport have published the second edition of the Modernising Trust Ports document. The revised document applies to trusts of all sizes in England and Wales however the DfT has suggested that other types of ports should also follow its recommendations.

This guidance represents a code of good practice. In Modernising Trust Ports the government states that all trust ports should review their governance arrangements against the standards set out within.

The first edition was published in 2000 by the then Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, and followed a review of the trust ports sector that focused principally on corporate governance and accountability.

The new document includes sections on stakeholders and beneficiaries, annual reporting and performance indicators, and it can be found here.