Some UK ports appear to be in a time warp and have a nine-to-five mentality, according to a survey of Dutch shipowners.
Gilbert de Bock, general manager of De Bock Maritime, told members of the British Ports Association during a debate on shipping trend that the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners had asked its members about their experiences with UK ports.
On the positive side, those questioned said the ports they used were well organised, had high quality VTS and port services and had a very good emergency response if required.
However, the challenges included compulsory pilotage in cases where a pilot would not be required in the Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, and in some cases outdated port infrastructure.
“Sometimes we come into a port and think we have come through some sort of time warp,” he said. “Of course, it is kind of romantic but there are also some safety issues there. As Dutch shipowners we look at the UK as a country with very high safety standards but we don’t always see that in ports when we see the way ships have to be moored and gangways have to be erected.”
He also said the nine-to-five mentality meant that if 1,000 tonnes of a 3,000-tonne cargo was still on the ship at 5pm, “We have to wait for the rest to be discharged the next day”.
Richard Ballantyne, chief executive of the BPA, said: “I would like to push back on this. I travel around European ports and I think that UK ports are certainly on a par, if not better.”
