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
It was announced from Tokyo on 25 November that ClassNK had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cybersecurity with the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA).
Panama, the world’s largest flag state, is making various efforts to improve the safety of its own vessels. On 17 November, PMA announced the establishment of a Cyber Incident Voluntary Reporting Scheme to better understand the cyber threats that vessels are exposed to and to seek more pragmatic and effective measures to control the cyber risks. It is understood that the scheme encourages all Panama-flagged vessels to report detected cyber incidents to PMA.
The PMA has issued a relevant Marine Notice available here: https://panamashipregistry.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/MMN-22-2021-CYBER-SECURITY-November-2021.pdf
Under the MOU, ClassNK will provide its knowledge and experience cultivated so far to PMA for their efforts to ensure cyber security. As part of these efforts, Class NK will analyse the information collected from the cyber incident voluntary reporting scheme of PMA.
In 2018, a leading mark, a tower equipped with Sealite’s Port Entry Light (SL-PEL-10), was established at Puerto Mamonal, Colombia, to enhance the safety of vessel traffic approaching the port from the north channel.
Since the installation of Sealite’s Port Entry Light in 2018, it has helped Puerto Mamonal increase the number of large visiting vessels and provided safer operations in the approach to the port.
However, it was found that the north and south channels were in need of additional aids to navigation for safer passage.
Puerto Mamonal’s port owners, with the help of Ingeniería Naval & Señalización Marítima S A S, installed Sealite buoys: six SL-B2200 Nautilus Ocean Buoys in Region B channel configuration.
The SL-B2200 Nautilus is rotationally moulded using UV-stabilized virgin polyethylene to prevent discoloration from the sun’s UV rays. This is especially important in hotter climates. Each buoy is foam filled with closed-cell polyurethane which prevents water logging in the event of collision.
The buoy’s lightweight and two-piece modular design makes it easy to transport and assemble. Its strength lies in the stainless steel tie bars in the buoy body or hull structure connecting the lifting and mooring eyes. This ensures even lifting and mooring stresses at major stress points.
