Changes at Alderney harbour

Friday 04 February 2022

The impact of the pandemic on Alderney’s harbour has been outlined in a report by the Guernsey Harbour Master.

Captain David Barker found that general housekeeping measures are not being fulfilled due to staff having to manage covid-related border control measures and processing.

The States of Alderney invited Capt. Barker to review services at the harbour and identify measures to improve them. Now the States of Alderney's General Services Committee has accepted all of Capt. Barker’s recommendations for improvement and agreed that border control duties should not be carried out by harbour staff.

An area earmarked for improvement is staff training. Alderney Harbour Master, Capt. John Taylor, had already conducted a training needs assessment for his team and identified several areas falling short because of pressures brought about by the pandemic. For example, three officers have often worked around the clock.

Capt. Barker’s report observed that staffing levels and the recent workload meant that it was not possible to release staff for training to remedy the identified issues.

He said the top priorities for training should be oil pollution control and coastguard search planning. In addition, Guernsey Ports are considering using online training for Alderney harbour officers and including Alderney in an extension of their existing Memorandum of Understanding with the UK Maritime & Coastguards Agency.

Capt. Barker said that during the tourist season management of leisure vessel moorings and processing of mooring fees are likely to absorb the most productive time of the harbour staff. This is likely to affect the time available to deal with other aspects of port management. 

Pictured: Staff training issues at Alderney harbour have been brought into sharp relief by the effects of the pandemic.

In addition to staff training needs, other recommendations accepted include:

• building a constructive relationship with the community through user group meetings and public information services;
• employing a further full-time port attendant and additional clerical support;
• a review of the navigational risk register led by the Chief Executive with support from the Emergency Planning Officer;
• a review of maritime legislation, the Port Marine Safety Code and pilotage arrangements;
• a review of the Standard Operating Procedures to ensure that they remain appropriate and relevant, including the legal authority to detain vessels under the Harbour Ordinance; and
• possible inclusion of Alderney passenger vessels within the provisions of the Merchant Shipping (Commercial Vessels) (Safety and Crewing) (Guernsey and Sark) Regulations 2019 and associated Code.

Capt. Barker’s report noted that areas of the harbour estate where commercial cargo and passenger operations are conducted are “generally in sound condition”, but there are areas where vessels are laid up and access is not controlled, creating a risk to members of the public. The General Services Committee has agreed to implement several changes to mitigate this risk. 

The harbour office was noted as a well-designed and well-kept facility with an adequate waste management plan in place.

Committee Chairman Boyd Kelly said: “We are extremely grateful to Capt. Barker for the time and effort he has put into his report.

"In particular, we wanted to understand better the regulatory framework within which the Alderney harbour has to operate and he has provided this both in his report and subsequent discussions. 

“We now have a blueprint to make essential improvements and are engaged fully with our own Harbour Master to action the recommendations.”

The Alderney Harbour Master is working with colleagues to identify and prioritise actions as set out in the recommendations and will integrate these into the Harbour Authority Annual Service Plan.