Organising
Harbourmaster
Ports have always offered opportunities for employment. This is
one of the reasons they act as a magnet to people. Many of the jobs
involve manual labour, although less so today than in the past.
There are also opportunities for workers with special skills such
as shipbuilders. Much office work is available, as almost every
piece of cargo and each passenger moving through the port needs
documents. The dynamic economy of a thriving port attracts
ambitious people as, with hard work and luck on their side, there
are opportunities to become rich. This section describes some of
the key people who make a port work, and for whom a port makes
work. There are many people who ensure a port works. Some organise and
assist the coming and going of ships. Others ensure those who use
and work in the port do so legally. Harbourmaster and staff
 Southampton Harbour Board officials |
The harbourmaster and his assistants regulate the shipping
traffic of a port. They tell ships` masters (captains) when they
can enter or leave. They decide which berth a ship uses when a ship
is tied up at port. To do this they need to have practical
knowledge of ships. Indeed, many harbourmasters will have been to
sea themselves. They need information on how big are the ships
approaching, especially how long they are and how deep is their
draft, in other words, how much water they need to float in. The harbourmasters` staff also have to know their own port
intimately. The must be aware of what ships are already in which
berths. They need to know how long each is likely to stay. They
must understand the currents and tides that affect a ship entering
or leaving. They must be aware of the depth of water available at
any state of the tide. They must know how big is each berth in
their docks, and what facilities it has, for example, cranes. They
have to balance the need for ensuring a ship`s safe arrival and
departure with the commercial pressures of not keeping a ship
waiting longer than is absolutely necessary. In a big port, where there are many movements of ships each day,
the harbourmaster has staff to do this work at each individual
dock, called dockmasters. They in turn will have staff to work the
lock gates, and to tie ships up. Ports usually work 24 hours a day.
So those who run them need to work shifts, or be on call 24
hours.
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