News and Events

This year the BPA Ports Conference will be held at The Barcelo Imperial Hotel, Torquay, kindly hosted by Tor Bay Harbour Authority, which is part of Torbay Borough Council and includes the harbours of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. The Conference Flyer gives an outline of the topics we plan to cover and you can find further details on prices in the Conference booking form.

The Conference will start after breakfast on Wednesday 6 October and end with dinner on Thursday 7 October. The port visit will take place on Friday morning and will involve a visit to the new fish market facility at Brixham Harbour.

On Tuesday evening there will be a drinks reception at the hotel hosted by the TT Club. On Wednesday there will be a tour of Tor Abbey and dinner at the Spanish Barn. The Conference Dinner is on Thursday evening at The Barcelo Imperial Hotel.

We are still confirming speakers but we have invited the new head of the MCA, Sir Alan Massey, a speaker from the newly formed MMO as well as contributors on port markets, navigational safety and the pros and cons of onshore power supply. There will also be an overview from the DfT on ports policy under the Coalition Government and a session from the Scottish Government.

BPA Chairman Jim Stewart and Director David Whitehead met with the new Ports and Shipping Minister, Mike Penning, on 9 June, to discuss topical issues facing the ports industry. Mr Penning outlined some of his initial ideas about the sector and also how they might link in with the new government’s wider transport policies.

Also during the meeting the Minister was given a brief introduction to the BPA and its nationally inclusive role covering a wide range of port interests. Mr Penning heard how ports are not only handlers of cargoes and passengers, but provide fundamental support to other industries such as offshore oil and gas.

The meeting was significant as it was the first formal discussion the Minister has had with any part of the maritime sector. It was a vital opportunity to establish a dialogue with him and the BPA looks forward to further cooperation.

The BPA’s Fishing Ports Working Group successfully exhibited collectively under the banner of the BPA at the 2010 Glasgow Fishing Show.

Members of the Group shared the stand and used the event to generate publicity, highlight the vital role ports of all sizes play within the fishing industry and provide the members with further links to business partners from across the sector. The stand also enabled members to explore the rest of the exhibition.

The exhibition took place between Thursday the 20th and Saturday 22nd May 2010, at the SECC in Glasgow. Last year more than 2,500 visitors attended the event further details can be found at: www.fishingexpo.co.uk

At the BPA’s 2010 AGM, the Association’s new Chairman Jim Stewart launched the organisation’s new strategy paper, “A Blueprint for Ports Policy”. The document sets out how the ports industry would like to engage with the new government and outlines the areas which the BPA believes require focus. A copy of the document can be downloaded below.

Speaking of the document Mr Stewart said “We felt it was necessary to have a quick and easy guide to where we stand on a range of policy and market issues. It’s certainly not a final word, nor is it just about the election. What it does set out is how we want to engage with a future government and the areas that we believe are important. It shows how many organisations we deal with and how complex some of the challenges are.”

If you would like any further details or to request a hard copy please contact us.

At its 2010 Annual General Meeting on 23 March the members of the British Ports Association elected Jim Stewart, the Chief Executive of Poole Harbour Commssioners, as the Association’s new Chairman.

Mr Stewart replaces Stephen Bracewell as the Chairman of the BPA, and acts as the industry’s figurehead representing all sections of the ports sector to a wide range of government bodies and key stakeholders.

Speaking at the Association’s Annual Lunch, referring to the current downturn, the new Chairman said that adjustment had often been painful. “Unlike some other parts of businesses, we won’t be going cap in hand to government”, he said. Nevertheless, there were some modest causes for optimism and, referring to the creation of the new Marine Management Organisation (MMO) he suggested that “improvements to the planning system should at least reduce delays and costs”.

Also elected was Colin Parker, Chief Executive of Aberdeen Harbour Board, as Vice Chairman and he will replace Andy Brigden, the Head of Maritime at Cornwall Council.

The BPA has responded to the DfT’s a National Policy Statement (NPS) for ports and our submission outlines the ports sector’s perspective.

We support the concept of a NPS for ports and see it as a welcome development. The ports industry will look to the NPS to deliver more certainty into a planning process that is currently largely characterized by uncertainty.

Some BPA members are more likely than others to be directly affected by the requirement for the largest projects to be referred to the Infrastructure Planning Commission. Even so, we believe that the NPS will have a significant influence far beyond those projects above the threshold, in that the planning principles will be similarly applied to a range of below the threshold projects to be handled by the Marine Management Organization. Our response, therefore, reflects the potential impact of the proposals both in relation to the IPC and beyond.

The BPA has been following the development of Ofcom’s proposals to introduce Administered Incentive Pricing (AIP) for maritime radio and radar spectrum to create, they claim, greater efficiency of use. Ofcom are developing their proposals through a series of consultations and along with the UKMPG we have now submitted a joint response to the latest consultation which is looking at the licensing of maritime VHF radio frequencies. Our argument has consistently been that AIP should not be applied where spectrum must be used for safety reasons and where international agreements exist with other governments on spectrum availability.

The consultation was extended to the end of January to allow comparison against the separate proposals for aviation and this is expected to add further delays to the implementation of Ofcom’s changes. While the rises do not appear to be as much as was first suggested, they are still likely to impose varying increases. In terms of timescale, Ofcom are proposing to introduce these changes to VHF licences in the first half of this year, although they are likely to phase in some of the changes over the next three years.

Towards the end of 2009 the BPA held a successful first revised trust port briefing in Gloucester which was attended by board representatives from Newport, Gloucester and Teignmouth trusts. The programme included presentations by the DfT on port and transport policy, harbour duties and powers as well as a presentation on the Port Marine Safety Code.

Governance issues and some practical examples of “board dilemmas” were covered and discussed. For England and Wales this was the first exercise covering the Modernizing Trust Ports 2 guidance and we look forward to rolling this out further in 2010.

In Scotland, where the MTP2 document does not yet apply, we have suggested to the Scottish Government that it would be useful to have a series of briefing seminars, primarily aimed at new board members, using the existing guidelines but at the same time initiating a discussion on the usefulness of the changes enshrined in MTP2. We are now making plans for a first seminar and will contact members in Scotland with details shortly.

The BPA’s Scottish Ports Committee hosted the first ever Parliamentary Ports Reception for MSPs at Holyrood on 24 November 2009.

The Reception was an opportunity for MSPs and the Scottish Government to meet with representatives of the Scottish ports industry and discuss a number topical issues such as the Scottish Marine Bill.

The event was hosted by Liam McArthur, MSP and the chief guest was Jim Mather, Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism. Representatives at the reception were drawn from the Scottish Government, the Crown Estate, Marine Scotland and is the first gathering of its type in Scotland for many years.

Speaking at the reception, Nigel Mills, the Committee’s Chairman said: “The sheer size and importance of the ports industry means that we have to get policy right. We enjoy an excellent dialogue with the Scottish Government. Looking to the future, we aim to ensure that we have a good mutual understanding of future capacity needs, that we can identify where investment is needed in the transport network and that we have an efficient planning and consents system. The new Marine Bill is also a big issue for us and will set the pattern for coastal management for many years to come.”

The Marine and Coastal Access Bill was given Royal Assent on 12 November 2009. The Act, which was a substantially sized piece of legislation, introduces a new marine planning system, establishes a Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and streamlines the marine and fisheries licensing systems. It will also link up a long-distance public footpath around the English coast.

The BPA has prepared a ports industry briefing on the Bill and this can be found here.