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 productivity, environmental, and economic pressures mounting, ports around the world are turning to the Internet of Things (IoT), advanced analytics and machine learning to boost operational efficiencies. Working together to mesh edge, AI and 5G technologies, Awake.AI and Intel are leading port operations to the computer vision era.
The Association for Women in the Maritime Sector in Eastern and Southern Africa region (WOMESA) celebrated the IMO International Day for Women in Maritime in the margins of its tenth annual conference and workshop in Kisumu County, Kenya held from 25-27 May. The event reported by the IMO media service in the last week of May concerned Women in Maritime: Opportunities and Milestones Achieved and took stock of WOMESA’s activities since its establishment by IMO in 2007.
Tugboat builder Sanmar Shipyards will be attending the International Harbour Masters Association (IHMA) biennial Congress in Kuala Lumper, Malaysia, for the first time later this month as part of its mission to lead the world to a sustainable emissions-free towage industry.
Just In Time (JIT) arrivals allow ships to optimise speed during their voyage to arrive in port when berth, fairway and nautical services are available.
Containerships can reduce fuel consumption and resulting carbon dioxide emissions by 14% on a per voyage basis using JIT arrival, according to a new study1, commissioned by the IMO-Norway GreenVoyage2050’s Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (Low Carbon GIA).
France’s Port of Toulon, which handles over 1.6 million ferry and cruise passengers annually, has committed to ABB Shore Connection technology at a key stage in its sustainability drive. This was reported by ABB on 8 June.
Importance of Toulon
The role of port managing bodies is expanding in a more complex port ecosystem, we learn.
Both the public role and commercial expectations are on the rise for European port managing bodies. This was one of the key messages of the European Sea Ports Organisation’s Trends in Ports’ Governance 2022 report, which was published at the ESPO Conference in Valencia on 2 June.
On 4 June from Miami US Coast Guard District Seven urged mariners to take precautions, heed weather warnings and stay safe as a tropical storm continued to impact South Florida and the Atlantic Ocean.
The official start of hurricane season was 1 June and the USCG warning stated that it was time to prepare for the six-month long hurricane season running to 30 November.
HE Dr Abdul Salam Hamid, Minister of Transport, Government of Yemen accompanied by the Under-Secretary of the Ministry, Captain Ali Al-Subhi, conducted an inspection on 18 May of Yemen Gulf of Aden Ports Corporation (YGAPC), to discuss a number of important and sensitive issues.
The International Harbour Masters Association (IHMA) and the Port of Rotterdam Authority are pleased to announce the 15th International Harbour Masters Association Congress, to be held from 09–12 June 2026 at Theater Zuidplein in Rotterdam.
Naresh Sewnath, Senior Harbour Master at Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) in South Africa’s Port of Durban, began his maritime career back in 1988. He started out as a cadet with TNPA (then known as South African Transport Services (SATS).