Medway Harbourmaster to be removed

[tony_lavelle]

Never sure whether to post on here or ECF... Anyway, it has emerged that Peel Ports have decided to save even more money by doing away with local harbourmasters and to run Medway Ports from Liverpool. The current Medway HM is understood to be leaving at the end of this month for undisclosed reasons and will not be replaced. It is unclear how the company will be able to cover its safety and other obligations to commercial and leisure users of the Medway and Swale.

 

[Riverleak]

I expect they'll get a volunteer to do it!!!

 

[oldgit]

Never sure whether to post on here or ECF... Anyway, it has emerged that Peel Ports have decided to save even more money by doing away with local harbourmasters and to run Medway Ports from Liverpool. The current Medway HM is understood to be leaving at the end of this month for undisclosed reasons and will not be replaced. It is unclear how the company will be able to cover its safety and other obligations to commercial and leisure users of the Medway and Swale.

It may be totally unrelated, but a MAIB report soon to be released, allegedly will specifically comment on some very lax oversight regards safety regulations on commercial vessels in the Medway area.

 

[maby]

That's not Roy, is it??? They can't get rid of Roy - VHF along the Medway will never be the same again!

 

[byron]

How can you run a port without a Harbour Master ? Who is on the spot to make decisions?

 

[oldgit]

Speaking to assorted peeps last night, not sure if it will mean only admin staff are being "downsized" or as one chap put it

The control room at Garrison Pt. will only contain a radio link to Liverpool with a couple of cameras pointing out the window.

The amount of commercial shipping stopping in the Medway has been in decline for years and apart from a few Porches and the odd LPG vessel there is no income being generated for port operations.
Peel Ports have in the past proposed some major redevelopments in the area involving housing and a marina.
The new mega port coming on line in Essex can not be good news for Sheerness docks.
Only real hope for the future is if Boris can outflank the NIMBIES and get the airport built on the practically derelict and moribund Isle of Grain.

Two big advantages for moi.
Will be able to jump over airport fence and walk to Dept. lounge.
Will avoid having to use the Hell on Earth M25 to get to Stanstead/Heathrow/Gatwick.

 

[boatone]

I understand that we may be getting a new HarbourMaster for the non tidal Thames shortly ........ short on details at present !

 

[Chris_d]

I understand that we may be getting a new HarbourMaster for the non tidal Thames shortly ........ short on details at present !

I'm not surprised there are only so many of those ATYC meetings you can attend before your sanity goes

 

[byron]

I understand that we may be getting a new HarbourMaster for the non tidal Thames shortly ........ short on details at present !

We haven't had a knowledgeable experienced Harbour Master since John Redmond. He is now Worshipful Master of the Company of Watermen and the Chairman of one of the fast ferry firms on the tidal Thames.

 

[oldgit]

Member of our club has recently started out on whatever path you have to follow to become a Harbour Master.
Am going to guess is it now a wee bit more academic than of yore.

 

[byron]

Member of our club has recently started out on whatever path you have to follow to become a Harbour Master.
Am going to guess is it now a wee bit more academic than of yore.

Proper Harbour Masters were traditionally Master Mariners that had swallowed the Anchor.

 

[alanch]

Proper Harbour Masters were traditionally Master Mariners that had swallowed the Anchor.

If you want Harbourmasters then the PLA have loads including one for the Thames Tideway Tunnel. Not all are Master Mariners.

 

[teddington_lock]

They all seem to be pretty well qualified ?

https://www.pla.co.uk/Safety/Harbour-Masters

 

[oldgit]

A search with google fails to find anything on the interweb and resounding silence from Peel Ports.

 

[sunquest]

Does this mean I won't have pay the annual £56 ish licence fee?

 

[oldgit]

Does this mean I won't have pay the annual £56 ish licence fee?

That course of action may have been mentioned

 

[Firestone]

Member of our club has recently started out on whatever path you have to follow to become a Harbour Master.
Am going to guess is it now a wee bit more academic than of yore.

Tell your friend to google International Harbour Masters Association.

 

[Celica]

Peel ports are just property developers with no interest in shipping. They are being allowed to deliberately run the port of Chatham and Sheerness down so they can sell it off for housing. Unfortunaely this will just result in more lorries on our already gridlocked roads.
There was a reefer service into Sheerness for year but they were made unwelcome when a firm showed interest in building wind farms at the port, so hence no more reefer service!
The only place thats shows any signs of picking up is Ridham which has a new bio mass plant being built at the moment and Grovehurst jetty which supplies Knauf but theese are actually on the swale.
As is the case with all of our waterways, we will soon lose the ability to use them for freight if we keep building overpriced and unwanted housing on the wharfage and docks!!

 

[maby]

Peel ports are just property developers with no interest in shipping. They are being allowed to deliberately run the port of Chatham and Sheerness down so they can sell it off for housing. Unfortunaely this will just result in more lorries on our already gridlocked roads.
There was a reefer service into Sheerness for year but they were made unwelcome when a firm showed interest in building wind farms at the port, so hence no more reefer service!
The only place thats shows any signs of picking up is Ridham which has a new bio mass plant being built at the moment and Grovehurst jetty which supplies Knauf but theese are actually on the swale.
As is the case with all of our waterways, we will soon lose the ability to use them for freight if we keep building overpriced and unwanted housing on the wharfage and docks!!

In fairness, with London Gateway opening just across the river, the country as a whole is not losing port facilities. Chatham and Sheerness are not particularly well served for transport links either. As a Medway sailor, the only cargo traffic we've seen over the last several years are sand and gravel to the docks between Chatham and Rochester, coal to Kingsnorth, Gas to the Grain terminal and some cars to the Queenborough terminal. Kingsnorth is closed, the sand and gravel still seems to be flowing and I guess the gas will too since the storage and pumping facilities are all on Grain and will cost a lot to relocate. Not sure about the traffic into Queenborough.

 

[boatone]

In fairness, . . . . .

No room for that sort of nonsense here ! Fairness indeed, whatever next ?