Harbour Master
The principal and fundamental role of a Harbour Master is:
To manage safely the movement of shipping within his or her area of jurisdiction.
The role will vary dependent upon the size of the harbour and the type of ships using it, but will typically include the management of:
- People, including vessel traffic services operators, port operators and associated staff
- Safe, secure, efficient and environmentally sound port operations
- Finances and marine assets
- The provision of pilotage
- The leisure use of the harbour
Worldwide there are approximately 3,000 merchant ports and the work of the Harbour Master can vary widely from country to country and from port to port even within the same country.
Latest News & Events
A new Ship-Port Interface Guide in pdf format focusing on eight practical measures which can support GHG emission reduction at the ship-port interface was released by IMO on 26 March.
The document can be found here:
Ship-Port Interface Guide.pdf (imo.org)
Developed by the Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (Low Carbon GIA) under the IMO-Norway GreenVoyage2050 Project, the Guide aims to support the maritime industry in achieving IMO’s emission reduction goals and contribute to greener shipping.
The eight practical measures presented in the Guide are:
1. Facilitate immobilisation in ports.
2. Facilitate hull and propeller cleaning in ports.
3. Facilitate simultaneous operations (simops) in ports.
4. Optimize port stay by pre-clearance.
5. Improve planning of ships calling at multiple berths in one port.
6. Improve ship/berth compatibility through improved Port Master Data.
7. Enable ship deadweight optimisation through improved Port Master Data.
8. Optimise speed between ports.
On 7 April the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) reported that multipurpose coastguard support via a remotely piloted surveillance system (RPAS) services had been provided at the request of the Romanian Border Police.
(See illustrations here from EMSA / Romanian authorities ©)
The RPAS system will support a number of authorities in Black Sea waters including the Romanian Naval Authority and National Agency for Fishing and Aquaculture.
It is understood that the mid-sized RPAS craft can stay in the air for up to seven hours and has a range of up to 200km. It is equipped with a camera capable of day and night operations, a sea surface scanner, a distress beacon detector and a sensor that can detect vessel positions. It can be used for a range of activities, including border control, monitoring naval traffic, search and rescue, and environmental protection. Data from the RPAS can be recorded and transferred to the EMSA RPAS data centre in real time, and then made immediately available to national authorities.
