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.

On 30 January it was reported that the Port of London Authority (PLA), which is responsible for the safety of navigation on the tidal Thames, had signed a new deal with Reygar Ltd for the expansion of BareFLEET, Reygar’s advanced remote monitoring system, across the PLA’s varied fleet of multi-cat, crewboat, and survey vessels.
As one would expect a high level of fleet serviceability and operational efficiency is a key priority for the PLA. By investing in the latest in fully integrated fleet health and performance monitoring, it is reported that the PLA are taking a best practice, data-based approach to the operation of its varied fleet.
As well as informing the PLA’s preventative maintenance strategy by monitoring engine health and performance, BareFLEET provides the PLA’s operations team with a complete understanding of fuel consumption, engine efficiency, and CO2 emissions across their varied fleet of workboats. Following an initial contract for ten BareFLEET systems, the business has now signed an agreement with Reygar for 14 further installations.
Chris Huxley-Reynard, Engineering Director, Reygar, said: It is essential that British ports remain competitive internationally as we negotiate our future international trading relationships. Ensuring our ports, waterways, and the vessels that use them are effectively and efficiently managed is key to this goal.
‘A more comprehensive adoption of BareFLEET will further streamline the PLA’s preventative and planned maintenance strategy, ensuring maximum availability for its versatile fleet of vessels whilst reducing unnecessary expenditure.
‘By pulling all critical data streams from the vessel into a single portal, the PLA’s operations team will have the oversight and flexibility to make further improvements to how downtime is managed, as well as advise on how vessels can be more efficiently piloted to reduce unnecessary fuel burn and emissions.
‘We are proud to support the PLA in its world-class approach to port operations, and in continuing to reduce the environmental impact of its vital work.’
Andy Osborne, Marine Engineering Manager, PLA, added: ‘Advanced monitoring of vessel activities is central to our work to continuously improve the performance and efficiency of our vessels.
‘The BareFLEET system allows us to pinpoint where and why any issues such as excess fuel burn are occurring. Acting on these insights not only reduces fuel costs, but reduces energy use across our operations. This enables us to operate efficiently and minimise fuel use.’
Our illustration shows mooring maintenance vessel London Titan* kindly provided by the Port of London Authority©.
About Reygar
Established in 2012, Reygar provides fully integrated remote monitoring and fleet reporting systems to the marine industry.
BareFLEET is a pioneering fleet monitoring platform that offers an unparalleled level of insight into all aspects of fleet performance and health. Developed to help maximise the operational effectiveness of fleets, BareFLEET automatically gathers a comprehensive set of engine, navigational, vibration, motion and health data, including fuel efficiency, CO2 emissions, vertical heave motion, tower impact and push-on force, plus indications of motion sickness.
For more information about Reygar and the BareFLEET platform readers are invited to visit: www.reygar.co.uk
*For more on this service craft see here: http://www.pla.co.uk/About-Us/PLA-Mooring-Maintenance-Vessel-London-Titan
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.
It is noted from the latest European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) Newsletter issued at the beginning of April that on 26 March, EMSA hosted an online workshop on shore-side electricity for port authorities and administrations.
EMSA reported that the event saw nearly 300 experts from different sectors of Europe and around the globe whose work is related to the development, certification and operation of shore-side electricity projects in ports.
The initial aim of the workshop was to gather feedback from stakeholders on the continuing guidance project on shore-side electricity, by encouraging an exchange of ideas and reaction to draft documents under consultation.
However, the scope was extended as registration exceeded expectations. This allowed for presentations to be given on other initiatives in the field currently being worked on. A contribution from the IMO and several interventions from international standardisation experts were of particular relevance to the work EMSA is currently conducting in this area for port authorities and administrations.