The International Harbour Masters Association (IHMA) has joined an industry campaign to promote a vision for better global commerce safety and security.
The IHMA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in March 2023 as a result of collaboration with the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS), the Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme (CHIRP), the Container Owners Association (COA), the International Cargo Handling Coordination Association (ICHCA), and the Ship Message Design Group (SMDG).
All signatories have a shared goal of improving safety throughout worldwide transportation and handling of items that have the potential to cause injury to workers and/or environmental damage.
The aim is to create a framework for cooperation that enables each signatory to benefit from any of the other’s activities in respect of their areas of joint interest.
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The six industry organisations will be able to combine data, research, and best practices across global cargo supply chains in order to raise awareness of practical and effective safety measures throughout the freight sector, including among operators, regulators, and policymakers.
Captain Paul O’Regan, President of IHMA, commented on his Association’s commitment to the MOU.
“As the professional body for those with responsibility for the safe, secure, efficient and environmentally sound conduct of marine operations in port waters, IHMA recognises that accidents and incidents happen in port as well as at sea,” O’Regan stated.
“This collaboration with the MoU partners and the other organisations will help us to enhance safety throughout the ports sector and create a platform for mutually beneficial work on safety initiatives in the maritime environment.”
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In welcoming IHMA, the CEO of ICHCA, Richard Steele said: “It is a first-class addition to have the IHMA on-side because harbour masters play a crucial role in both maritime safety and the ship shore interface.
“Their leadership on navigational safety along with an essential contribution to wider operational safety, security and environmental protection puts them at the crossroads of the activities that the MoU partners are seeking to continuously improve.”
