CEs commit to code for safer shipping in ports and harbours
17 August 2016
Chief executives of New Zealand’s port companies, councils and Maritime New Zealand willtomorrow (August 18) commit to a
revised, national port and harbour marine code to make shipping in commercial harbours safer.
Maritime NZ Director Keith Manch said by raising the code to a commitment by CEs, the maritime industry is sending a
strong message about shipping safety in ports and harbours.
New initiatives include creating a governance group of CEs, jointly funding a secretariat to administer the revised
code, and setting up a work programme including safety systems reviews and performance monitoring. The reviewers will be
experienced harbourmasters, marine managers, and pilots nominated by councils and port companies, and supported by
Maritime NZ.
“Safe, reliable shipping protects people, our environment and our country’s international reputation,” Mr Manch said.
“With 99 percent of our imports and exports by volume travelling by sea, our ports and harbours are crucial to our
economy and trading relationships.”
Mr Manch said the main focus of the code is the safe movement of ships inside commercial ports and harbours. This
includes waterways and channels, marine traffic, berthing, port operations on the water, and protection of the marine
environment.
“Ports are multi-faceted operations, with the added complexity of different businesses working in the same place with
overlapping safety responsibilities,” said Garth Cowie, Napier Port CEO. “There are inherent risks in a port
environment, and managing and mitigating those risks is of the utmost importance.
“New Zealand ports are committed to ensuring that every person entering their operation can carry out their work without
undue risk and go home safely to their families at the end of the day. The revised New Zealand Port and Harbour Marine
Safety Code, along with the governance protocols, is part of that.”
The New Zealand Port and Harbour Marine Safety Code includes “statements of good practice” for maritime activities
inside ports and harbours and a safety management system for applying these practices based on a shared responsibility
model.
New Zealand has had a voluntary harbour and ports safety code since 2004 but this was not consistently applied and had
no formalized system for managing and overseeing it. Such inconsistency can pose uncertainty and risks for shipping and
port companies, and costs on trade.
“This revised code is a new way of approaching our responsibilities by working together to make ports and harbours
safer,” Mr Manch said.
The 2016 New Zealand Port and Harbour Marine Safety Code is on the Maritime NZ website.