Harbour Master
Harbour Masters
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.

With the theme, "The Next Wave – Navigating Towards the Digital Future, the 12th biennial Congress will be delivered virtually from 5 - 10 October, 2020.
The Congress remains the key forum for IHMA members and the global ports sector to collaborate, network, share information, and provide updates on the latest industry technology and solutions.
Join industry game changers who are altering the Baltic gas and LNG markets by providing greater energy security and meeting European climate change targets.
The Port of Sillamäe (SILPORT), Estonia, is the most eastern port of the EU, located only 25 km from the EU-Russian border and is one of the largest private ports in the EU. It is a relatively new, multifunctional deep-sea port. Natural depth at the quaysides of the port are sufficient for servicing the largest vessels that can enter the Baltic Sea through the Danish Straights.
The Smart Ports Summit, 19-20 February 2020, brings together the experts and innovators who are addressing the real need for optimatision of global supply chains and ports to secure fast and efficient movement of goods, manage mega vessels and meet sustainability targets.
19-20 November 2019 | Fira Barcelona Gran Via | Smart City Expo World Congress
IHMA is pleased to announce that Alex Mc Intosh, Marine Manager, Aberdeen Harbour Board, will represent the Association at the Women in Shipping Summit, 10-11 September 2019, London. Furthermore, there is a 20% discount available for IHMA members attending the Summit.
The following information is provided by the conference organiser:
Thursday 27 - Friday 28 June 2019
How and with who will the ship of the future communicate?
This is the question that industry, ship owners and managers, ports, nautical service providers, university and research projects will seek to answer in this biennial EHMC seminar. The day will include live demonstrations of industry products and a visit by boat within the Port of Gothenburg that will also take us around the harbour area.
Speakers;
"Port Choice"
The 2017 seminar was a first in the history of our Committee, as it was held in the Moroccan port of Tanger Med. This was a consequence of the previous seminar in 2015, which was held in Marseille and where we reached out to our North African colleagues who are Harbour Masters, Port Captains and their deputies.
Tanger Med has built a leading hub port on the south shore of the Strait of Gibraltar. Beginning service in July 2007, the Tanger Med port is now operating amongst the world's leading ports.
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.
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.