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.

Kongsberg Norcontrol provides integrated VTS systems, Local Port Service systems and Port security systems.
Successful ports establish Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) to ensure the safe and efficient movement of vessels through the port’s VTS area. Kongsberg Norcontrol VTS systems are robust, scalable and integrated so they can expand as demand increases. Compliant to IALA standards, recommendations and guidelines, our VTS systems provide optimal situational awareness ensuring the right decision is taken, at the right time and by the right person. In the increasingly competitive ports industry, Kongsberg Norcontrol recognises the need for our customers to use their traffic management resources efficiently. Our configurable Port management and information system ensures efficiency is combined with best practice processes.
In addition to VTS systems, we provide:
Aids to Navigation (AtoN) have evolved over time.
As new technology emerges, asset managers have a large range of options and features to consider. This document identifies how clever AtoN design and functionality can help authorities reduce operational costs and improve the visibility of their connected devices.
Aids to Navigation (AtoN) play a pivotal role in maritime safety and extend much further than being the traffic lights of the sea.
We are a long way from the days of a traditional lighthouse whose kerosene lamp served as a simple warning of danger ahead.
The navigational tools available to mariners today are vast and they continue to evolve as new technologies are realized.
Types of AtoN
Congestion within the world’s ports and shipping channels continues to grow, with the maritime industry relying on AtoN to ensure navigational safety and to manage traffic conditions.
On 2 March the (UK) Maritime & Coastguard Agency issued the eleven-page document entitled: MIN 656 (M): Understanding the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on seafarer wellbeing.
This Marine Information Note (MIN) provides guidance for ship owners on the stressors which have been created or exacerbated by the conditions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and provides some mitigating strategies.
The document provides information on the potentially long-lasting and far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on seafarer wellbeing. It provides guidance for ship owners on the stressors which have been created or exacerbated by the conditions throughout the pandemic and provides some mitigating strategies.
In this document the term ship owner is used in the sense that it is used in health and safety regulation, as the person responsible for the operation of the ship.
This is often the same organisation as the ‘company’ referred to in the ISM code.