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.

Adrian Kahl graduated as a naval architect in 2002 and is currently working at DNV’s Maritime Advisory Center in Hamburg in the department Structural Analyses and Measurements. He has worked at Germanischer Lloyd, Blohm&Voss and as a research engineer at Hamburg University of Technology. His technical background primarily comprises structural strength analysis with the focus on fatigue strength. He was involved in various rule development projects at DNV and within IACS, among others, for anchoring and mooring.
Capt Ben van Scherpenzeel, AFNI, Director Nautical Developments, policy and plans at the Port of Rotterdam spent 15 years at sea on tankers, reefer vessels and cruise liners, he was also project manager of new build programs before joining the Port of Rotterdam in 2004. His present responsibilities are optimization of port operations, port information (including being Chairman of the International Taskforce on Port Call Optimization), Chairman of the Shipping Advisory Board North Sea, Project Officer of the International Harbour Master Association and Vice-Chair of the IMO GIA Low Carbon Shipping group – work stream Ship Port Interface.
A new heatwave, the fourth since the beginning of June 2022, is ongoing in central and western Europe.
According to the national weather services, air temperatures between 9 and 14 August could again exceed 44°C in Spain, 40°C in France, 35°C in the south of the United Kingdom and 30°C in the Netherlands.
At the Port of Guam on 10 August the US Coast Guard recognized mariners aboard the CGA CGM Herodote for their action to save lives in March this year.
Captain Nick Simmons, US Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam, presented Captain Donald Moore and the crew a Coast Guard Certificate of Merit for their efforts to rescue fishers more than 100 miles off Japan after their vessel suffered a fire on 21 March.
Simmons said: ‘The efforts of Captain Moore and his crew honour the nautical tradition of assisting fellow mariners. Their bias for action and commitment were on display that day. Merchant mariners are an integral part of the global search and rescue enterprise, and especially in the vast Pacific, they are essential to saving lives.’