IHMA Organisation
IHMA is run on a day-to-day basis by the Executive Committee which is referred to as ExCo. This consists of 7 Officers (The President, 5 Vice Presidents and the Treasurer) and is supported by the Secretary. The Vice Presidents are required to be Full members of the Association; the Treasurer is required to be a Full member of the Association when first elected. These seven positions are filled by election held at each Ordinary General Meeting (OGM). Once elected by the Full members of the Association, the Vice Presidents elect the President from amongst their number. Other members may be co-opted to ExCo for specific purposes, such as the next Congress Chair and the Chair of the Papers’ Committee.
ExCo meets quarterly and is increasingly doing so using electronic means. However, it always meets ‘face to face’ just before and at the end of each Congress; the latter meeting is held in combination with the IHMA Council.
The Council consists of six full members who are also elected at each OGM and exercise immediate oversight of ExCo. It is accepted practice for the Council to be consulted about the proposed annual budget and any sensitive issue arising at ExCo meetings.
The IHMA Constitution
The Constitution of the International Harbour Masters’ Association sets out the articles under which the IHMA shall exist and operate. Amendments to the Constitution are approved at Ordinary General Meetings (OGM).
The Constitution was initially approved by an Ordinary General Meeting of the European Harbour Masters’ Association in Reykjavik, Iceland, on 21 June 1996, with the agreement of those harbour masters from outside Europe in attendance at the Sixth Congress of the EHMA. A substantially revised Constitution was approved on 1 June 2016 at the OGM held in Vancouver during the 10th IHMA Congress.
Regional Committees
IHMA members within a defined geographical region of two or more neighbouring countries may seek IHMA authority to establish a Regional Committee. The aim of a Regional Committee is to further the specific interests of IHMA's members within that region.
At present, there is one Regional Committee, the European Harbour Masters' Committee (EHMC). The EHMC is managed by a board from which its Chair is elected. There are board members for each of the South, East, West and North European areas. The EHMC has its own Secretary and its elected Chair is co-opted to ExCo.
International Liaison
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the United Nations specialised agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships. Find out more about the IMO here.
IHMA has Non–Governmental Organisation (NGO) consultative status at IMO. The purpose of consultative status is to enable IMO to obtain information or expert advice from NGOs with specialist knowledge in a particular area of maritime activity and to enable such NGOs, representing their members whose activities have an important and direct bearing on IMO’s work, to express their points of view.
Members of IHMA may attend IMO meetings by arrangement with the IHMA Secretary. Members of IHMA are able to participate in Correspondence Groups between meetings and in Working Groups during IMO meetings.
International Hydrographic Organization
The principal aim of IHO is to ensure that all the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters are surveyed and charted. Its vision is to create a global environment in which States provide adequate and timely hydrographic data, products and services and ensure their widest possible use. IHMA has Observer status at IHO and contributes to work streams associated with the provision of nautical port information.
Sister Organisations
Whilst maintaining relations with many maritime organisations, especially those represented at IMO, IHMA has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with four organisations.
IHMA is represented at meetings of IALA. IHMA members have the opportunity to participate in PIANC Working Groups which develop guidance to inform the construction and management of waterborne transport infrastructure.
National Associations
National Associations for Harbour Masters are active in some countries.
- German HMA
- French HMA
- UKHMA
- ACOPM (Morocco)
Latest News & Events
US Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, Georgia, crew members were recognized on 21 February for their response during the Golden Ray rescue of September 2019.
Rear-Admiral Eric Jones, Coast Guard 7th District commander, and Master Chief Petty Officer Devin Spencer, 7th District Command Master Chief, presented Air Medals to Lieutenant Robert Mineo and Lieutenant Jeb Slick, both helicopter pilots, and to Petty Officer 1st Class Eric Young and Petty Officer 1st Class Nathan Newberg, both aviation survival technicians.
Jones and Spencer also presented Coast Guard Commendation Medals to Petty Officer 2nd Class Jared Blitz, an aviation maintenance technician, and Petty Officer Joseph Kelly, an avionics electrical technician.
Mineo, Slick, Young, and Newberg, Blitz, and Kelly were instrumental in rescuing crew members from the motor vessel Golden Ray, a 656-foot vehicle carrier that capsized in Brunswick, Georgia with 24 people aboard.
On 8 September 2019, Coast Guard Air Station Savannah aircrews responded to Golden Ray, one of the most significant cases of Air Station Savannah’s history.
Before daybreak, they hoisted five survivors to safety, including the ship’s Master and skilfully managed the safe withdrawal of the pilot boat captain to a Coast Guard Station Brunswick small boat waiting below.
On 19 & 20 November 2020, the Navigating a Changing Climate partners will organise a two-day conference as part of the 10th International Conference on Coastal and Port Engineering in Developing Countries (COPEDEC) to be held in The Philippines, hosted by The Philippine Ports Authority (see https://www.pianc-copedec2020.org/ )
Of this event, Navigating a Changing Climate at COPEDEC, partners will organise a two-day conference as part of the 10th International Conference on Coastal and Port Engineering in Developing Countries (COPEDEC) to be held in The Philippines, hosted by The Philippine Ports Authority.
Partners
Partners with PIANC are: IAPH, the International Harbour Masters’ Association, the International Maritime Pilots’ Association, IMarEST and others.
They set up Navigating a Changing Climate as a five-year ‘Marrakech Partnership’ initiative in 2015, in the lead up to the UN Paris Agreement on Climate Change. In addition to the partner associations, more than 50 organisations have signed up as Navigating a Changing Climate ‘supporters’.
