The British Ports Association (BPA) has welcomed the launch of the latest three-yearly compliance exercise for the Ports and Marine Facilities Safety Code (PMSC), covering the 2026–28 period. Open until the end of March 2026, the exercise is led by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and covers the whole of the UK. It invites ports, harbours and marine facilities of all size and ownership structure, to demonstrate their alignment with the Code via a new, step-by-step online submission process on the GOV.UK website.
The BPA is encouraging strong participation from all types of port, and particularly from facilities that are not harbour authorities in their own right, to underline the sector’s commitment to high safety standards. The PMSC remains a cornerstone of the UK port sector’s approach to marine safety and the BPA is suggesting that widespread engagement in the compliance exercise will help show that the Code is effective, well-regarded, and delivering real value.
Keen to see wider compliance, the UK Government is pushing the Code out as wide as possible to all marine facilities such as terminals and marinas as well as very small harbours and jetties that often have limited marine activities.
Commenting, Richard Ballantyne, Chief Executive of the British Ports Association, the industry’s trade body for ports and marine facilities operators, said:
“We strongly welcome the opening of this latest PMSC compliance exercise and want to see as many port operators participate as is possible. Safety is at the heart of everything UK ports do, and this process provides an important opportunity for ports and marine facilities to demonstrate their commitment to best practice. By engaging fully, the sector can show that the Code is working well and that a non-statutory, partnership-based approach continues to serve both industry and government effectively.”
The PMSC Compliance Exercise opened formally on 1 January 2026 and runs through to 26 March, with details and the online form here.
The Code was first introduced 25 years ago following a major review of safety in the ports sector and it has evolved into a world leading resource for ports to use to identify, assess, and manage marine risks.
It is owned and managed by the UK Department for Transport and Maritime and Coastguard Agency but with close industry involvement around its development and evolution. The PMSC outlines the key principles for port duty holders, and its associated Guide to Good Practice gives operational staff more granular guidance on how to manage their marine safety risks.
The BPA is the UK’s national association for ports, harbours and marine facilities, covering over 400 such sites across the UK, from the largest to the smallest. It runs periodic briefings for port duty holders with specialist consultants ABPmer, and those interested can find further details here.
Meanwhile, Port Skills and Safety is the industry’s professional safety and skills membership organisation for ports, which looks at safety across the board. It has a host of guidance on its website here.