Update on the port security directive implementation project

Consultation progress

The public consultation period for the 'Port Security Regulations 2008' closes on 11th July 2008. To date we have had over 3,000 visitors to our web pages (http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/portsecurityregulation/).

Several stakeholders have already responded- including the of Port of Tilbury, Torbay Council, Sea Containers (Northfleet), Ministry of Defence, Cromarty Firth the Ports Associations and Port of Liverpool police. We are grateful for your comments and queries, and will address these in our written response to the consultation exercise. We also look forward to receiving comments from those who have not yet had an opportunity to reply, and would encourage any interested parties to do so.

Pilot ports

At present we are working with three port areas as 'pilot ports', to assist us in testing the requirements of the proposed legislation. This has provided a valuable opportunity to see how the regulations might measure up in reality. The pilot port areas are Bristol, London, and West Scotland and each presents its own unique challenges.

So far, most of the activity with pilot ports has been centred around identifying all the affected parties, and deciding on what is 'in' or 'out' of a port designation order for the port. Work in Bristol is advanced with many of the necessary ingredients for a Designation Order establishing a port security authority for the ports of Avonmouth and Bristol already identified. Meetings will be taking place in early July to discuss how the regulations can be applied to Stornoway and much of Western Scotland, and some discussion has already taken place with stakeholders on the Thames and Medway towards a "Thames" port security authority which could brigade up to 21 ports.

In addition, where we have been able to meet other industry stakeholders we have had constructive discussions. Examples are ABP Southampton, Harwich Haven, Forth Ports and the Scottish Ports conference. Whether as part of the pilot ports programme, or on a more ad hoc basis we are finding reassurance in the fact that initial concerns about what the Directive may mean are often being allayed once the detail of the Regulations is put in a local context.

Assuming that the draft regulations progress as planned, they will find their way into UK law towards the end of August 2008 perhaps coming into force on 1st October. However this does not mean the immediate imposition of regulatory burdens across the whole of the ports industry.

Port designation orders

A 'port designation order' will be needed for each port, and the process for producing this requires detailed discussion with the industry at local level, followed by a 12 week public consultation period for each Designation Order. Designation orders for ports will be drawn up on a priority basis over a two year period. Once an order is made for a given port, there is a reasonable period of time (up to 24 months) allowed by the Regulations to establish all of the necessary requirements. This allows for a measured, considered adoption of the regulations by the industry over a period of time.

By way of illustration, the pilot ports are scheduled to have their designation orders in place by Feb 2009, and the subsequent establishment of a port security authority, port security plan, and port security assessment taking place from then through to Feb 2011. We aim to approach more ports once the regulations have become law who we hope will follow the pilot ports towards full implementation of the Port Security Directive. Nevertheless we would encourage every port to start thinking about how they would define the boundary of their port for the purposes of the Port Security Regulations and which Port Security Authority they might wish to join.

In the meantime, whilst we encourage routine contact and dialogue with the industry, we would appreciate it if you could take the time to respond to the consultation papers if you have not already done so. We will be updating on progress with the pilot ports and the responses to the consultation exercise at the end of July.