Promoting safe, secure, efficient and environmentally sound marine operations in port waters

Welcome to the IHMA

The International Harbour Masters' Association is the professional body for those with responsibility for the safe, secure, efficient and environmentally sound conduct of marine operations in port waters.

With members in more than 50 countries, the Association brings together Harbour Masters and all those who hold a managerial position in aspects of the control of marine operations within a port.

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Role of Harbour Master/ Port Operations Professional
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Security icon
Security
Port Call Optimisation icon
Port Call Optimisation
Vessel Traffic Services icon
Vessel traffic services
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Safety icon
Safety
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Emergency Management icon
Emergency Management
Environment icon
Environment
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videos & webminars
Videos & Webinars
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seafarers
IHMA Initiative to Support Seafarers

Our Sponsors

Latest News & Events

UNCTAD port programme Graduate saves fresh water in Malaysia
Harvesting rainwater

A rainwater harvesting system proposed by Ms Rabiah Nadir is helping Johor Port, Malaysia, save fresh water, minimize chances of flooding and contribute to global goals.

It is estimated that the scheme will save up to ten million litres of freshwater each year.

UNCTAD’s TrainForTRade programme

The system installed in 2020 was proposed by Rabiah Nadir in a case study she developed under the UNCTAD TrainForTrade port management programme.

FIND OUT MORE
UK Marine accident investigation report Failure of a suspended buoy on workboat Annie E with one person injured
UK Marine accident investigation report

On 3 December the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) issued the above report which may have relevance to Members where fish farm service craft are operated in their ports’ waters.

At approximately 1315 on 3 April 2021, a deckhand on board the workboat Annie E was injured when he was struck by a grid buoy that had been lifted out of the water by the workboat’s forward crane at a fish farm off the Isle of Muck.

FIND OUT MORE

Become a member.

Join the world’s premier professional body for harbour masters. As an IHMA member, you will receive access to:

  • The IHMA forum - join the discussion
  • Details of your fellow members, including their contact coordinates
  • ExCo news and meetings
  • IHMA President's blog
  • Congress and Seminar Papers
  • Reports from IMO and IALA
  • Multimedia gallery
Sign up now

IHMA has Non-governmental international Organization Consultative status at IMO

As a specialized agency of the United Nations, IMO is the global standard-setting authority for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping. Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally implemented.

Find out more
Role of Harbour Master/ Port Operations Professional
Security
Port Call Optimisation
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Vessel Traffic Services
Safety
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Emergency Management
Environment

Become a Member

Join the world’s premier professional body for harbour masters and receive up-to-date information on the industry and access to the members' area of the website.

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Become a sponsor

Become a sponsor of the IHMA today and reap the benefits for your business:

  • Worldwide exposure
  • Prominence on the IHMA website
  • Instant access to your services and products for your existing and potential customers
  • Access to the key decision makers on marine operations in Ports – the Harbour Master
  • The opportunity to showcase your services and products at an international congress every two years

Be a part of the future of a vibrant, respected, professional and influential maritime organisation...IHMA

MORE INFO

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Latest Events

European Harbour Masters' Committee Seminar 4-5 May 2023 - Algeciras, Spain
tbc
port of algeciras spain

The European Harbour Masters’ Committee (EHMC) is delighted to announce that its 11th biennial seminar will be held at the Port of Algeciras, Spain from 4-5 May 2023.

Theme

The theme will be New Fuels.

Programme in brief

Over the two days the first day, 4 May 2023, will be devoted to seminar activities and presentations.  On the second day, 5 May, delegates will be invited to take part in a visit to the Port of Algeciras.

An interesting programme is in prospect. This event will provide the chance to meet others in the harbour master community and introductions here will be particularly valuable as EHMC now has some new members after a generation has retired, so much communication between delegates is anticipated.

To register

Although this is an event for European Harbour Masters, members in the 'aspiring' harbour master category are also welcome to attend. Registration can be done through the Eventbrite portal, the link to which will be circulated in the coming weeks.

An introduction to the Port of Algeciras

Algeciras Port is a strategic pathway located in the main maritime routes in the globe: north, south, east, west with zero deviation. A distribution platform for Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean sea, placed in the Strait of Gibraltar and surrounded by the natural shelter of the Algeciras Bay, leading the green transition in southern Europe.

Members not familiar with the Port of Algeciras are also invited to see here:

https://www.apba.es/en/introduction

EHMC Seminars, IHMA Congress, Maritime Events
Webinar invitation - Port and terminal risks: single person incidents
Online
TT Club Webinar - Port and terminal risks: single person incidents

TT Club’s Loss Prevention team is pleased to invite readers to join a webinar  discussion on single person incidents including slips, trips and falls. (www.ttclub.com )

Single person incidents make up 5% of TT’s port and terminal claims. This may seem like a small percentage, but it is the sixth most common claim seen and a single injury claim has the potential to be extremely costly.

According to TT’s claims data, 94% of bodily injury claims in the ports and terminals the Club insures are caused by operational human factors. This means that implementing procedures to reduce human error could drastically reduce these types of claims, which is what TT Club will be covering in its upcoming webinar.

During the session the following topics will be covered:

  • TT Club claims statistics
  • Identifying poor practices
  • Risk assessment
  • Incident prevention
  • Behaviours
  • Training

Guest speakers

Laurence Jones

Risk assessment director  TT Club

Laurence’s role in the TT Club covers advice and support in underwriting decisions and claims assessment, he works proactively with clients and industry to identify areas where risks may be reduced. Laurence is based in Sydney and travels to TT Club global offices and client sites on a regular basis. He is Deputy Chair of ICHCA International.

Richard Steele

Chief Executive Officer, ICHCA International

Richard is a safety and skills professional with a Masters in Training and Development who has been involved in the ports industry for 21 years. Prior to ports, Richard worked in the nuclear industry on safety and skills provision. Richard was the Learning and Development manager for Associated British Ports for 10 years and has led Port Skills and Safety for 11 years. He was appointed CEO of ICHCA in July 2021.

Mike Yarwood

Managing Director Loss Prevention, TT Club

Mike joined TT Club in 2010 as a Claims Executive providing advice to transport operator Members globally, having previously held operation management roles within the logistics industry for 13 years. Mike is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Logistics and Transport, a Technical Specialist Member of the Institute of Risk Management and a Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute.

Enquiries

For further information and to register, readers are invited to see here: 

https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4085460178719572752?dm_i=2RU,7ZV8G,8TBRJW,WP8MU,1

EHMC Seminars, Maritime Events
Mooring Safety Webinar
Virtual
mooring safety webinar

Hosted by IHMA sister organisation, The NauticaI Institute, this webinar will demonstrate and discuss essential safety messages for mooring safety addressing new equipment and modern vessels.

In June 2022 the popular mooring video ‘The Missing Link’ got a thorough update. Back in 2011, the European Harbour Masters’ Committee (EHMC) responded to concerns about knowledge gaps in the mooring process by commissioning a video titled “The Missing Link - improving the mooring processes”.  It appeared the mooring process had become the forgotten link in the nautical chain and consequently, content was developed by a number of organisations to address improvements in mooring safety.

Over the years thousands of copies of ‘The Missing Link’ videos were distributed worldwide and links to the videos have been accessible on the IHMA website for over a decade.  But as ships increased in size and mooring technology advanced, the original content of ‘The Missing Link’ became outdated. However, the issue is still of importance to Seafarers,  Harbour Masters and port users so the EHMC commissioned an update to the original video which is now complete.

The new series features seven short videos aimed at making the mooring process safer and more efficient for personnel and preventing damage to terminal equipment and vessels. Each video reflects current practices on:

Importance of safe mooring
Mooring plan
Mooring plan execution
Best practices during adverse conditions
How to maintain mooring lines (including maintaining records)
How to maintain mooring winches (including maintaining records)
How to select and install new mooring lines and tails

This webinar will be interactive, inviting feedback and questions from attendees. A certificate of participation is available to all those who attend.

EHMC Seminars, IHMA Congress, Maritime Events
Data-Led Emissions Management (D-LEMA) Monitoring Vessel Emissions in Ports Webinar 26 May 2022
Virtual
Data-Led Emissions Management (D-LEMA) Monitoring Vessel Emissions in Ports

Ports emit roughly 3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet there is no widely accepted tool for measuring waterside GHG emissions. D-LEMA is a project that has successfully demonstrated a proof-of-concept digital solution for monitoring vessel emissions in port, allowing port managers to identify activities that contribute to high levels of GHG emissions. 

This webinar will discuss the D-LEMA project and how widely available vessel data was used to estimate emissions in ports. Participants will learn about the methodology used as well as the preliminary results from the project in a working UK port.

Thursday, May 26

2pm London / 8am Houston / 9pm Singapore

Presented by Graham Howe
Business Development Director, Operations Optimization, ION

Graham Howe has over 25 years of experience in global sales, specializing in maritime applications. He has worked extensively in the offshore wind and metocean sectors, bringing new technology solutions to market. Graham is currently focused on the international roll-out of the Marlin SmartPort solution, a user-friendly Port Management Information System designed to support the digitalization of port operations via reliable Cloud-based applications.

Infographic_D-LEMA_11MayB.pdf
Maritime Events
COP26 Conference on Port Climate Change Adaptation, 2 -3 November 2021
Delivered virtually
COP26 Maritime Event

In November 2021, the UK will host COP26, the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Glasgow, Scotland.  Contracting parties to the Convention will meet to assess progress towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. 

Ports, like other forms of transport infrastructure, are potentially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, particularly extreme weather.  If the sector is to be well-prepared to face these changes, urgent action is needed to adapt infrastructure and to improve the climate-resilience of both assets and operations. 

In order to help promote such action, Peel Ports Group, Scotland, will be hosting a workshop at the International Maritime Hub during COP26, in collaboration with the British Ports Association, the UK Major Ports Group, Maritime UK and City of Glasgow College. 

The workshop, titled ‘Practical climate change adaptation challenges and good practice solutions for ports’, will run across two half-day sessions on 2nd and 3rd November 2021 and aims to facilitate the exchange of experiences and the sharing of good practice. 

The workshop will feature speakers from ports around the world including:

  • Captain Yoss Leclerc, Chief of Marine Operations, Port of Quebec, Canada; and
    President, International Harbour Masters’ Association;
  • Captain Naresh Sewnath, Senior Manager Pilotage & VTS, Transnet National Ports Authority, South Africa; and Vice-President, International Harbour Masters’ Association; 
  • Captain Karuppiah Subramaniam, General Manager of Port Klang Authority, Malaysia; and President, International Association of Ports and Harbours; and Chair of the IHMA 2022 Congress 

Please use the following link to register your interest in attending this free event:

https://www.maritimeuk.org/imh-2021/imh-events/adaptation-solutions-ports/

For more information, please see the attached detailed programme.

COP26_workshop_on_climate_change_adaptation_for_ports_-_programme-1.pdf
EHMC Seminars, IHMA Congress, Maritime Events
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Download the IHMA Constitution

The IHMA constitution sets out the establishment of a region of the IHMA, the committee role and authority, its formation and management.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Latest News & Events

UNCTAD port programme Graduate saves fresh water in Malaysia Harvesting rainwater

A rainwater harvesting system proposed by Ms Rabiah Nadir is helping Johor Port, Malaysia, save fresh water, minimize chances of flooding and… FIND OUT MORE

UK Marine accident investigation report Failure of a suspended buoy on workboat Annie E with one person injured UK Marine accident investigation report

On 3 December the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) issued the above report which may have relevance to Members where fish farm service… FIND OUT MORE

Latest News & Events

UNCTAD port programme Graduate saves fresh water in Malaysia
Harvesting rainwater

A rainwater harvesting system proposed by Ms Rabiah Nadir is helping Johor Port, Malaysia, save fresh water, minimize chances of flooding and contribute to global goals.

It is estimated that the scheme will save up to ten million litres of freshwater each year.

UNCTAD’s TrainForTRade programme

The system installed in 2020 was proposed by Rabiah Nadir in a case study she developed under the UNCTAD TrainForTrade port management programme.

FIND OUT MORE
UK Marine accident investigation report Failure of a suspended buoy on workboat Annie E with one person injured
UK Marine accident investigation report

On 3 December the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) issued the above report which may have relevance to Members where fish farm service craft are operated in their ports’ waters.

At approximately 1315 on 3 April 2021, a deckhand on board the workboat Annie E was injured when he was struck by a grid buoy that had been lifted out of the water by the workboat’s forward crane at a fish farm off the Isle of Muck.

FIND OUT MORE