Blog post: PSS visit to Shoreham Port

The PSS team visited Shoreham Port to catch up on the port’s recent developments and present Megan Blundell, data technician apprentice, with her prize for winning the recent Safer Tomorrow competition.

Megan’s presentation on how ports are likely to change in the next ten years, was shown at the PSS Members’ Conference in July and received many commendations for her style of delivery and understanding of the challenges ports face in the future.

Whilst at the port, the PSS and Shoreham Port teams got together to discuss recent developments in the sector, changes at the port and why a good culture is the foundation to a successful future.
CEO, Tom Willis, talked about growth at the port, including bringing in-house many of their previously contracted activities such as haulage and line handling. He also highlighted the recently acquired new crane and the unintended consequence of machinery that is quiet!

Tom also talked about Shoreham’s strongly commitment to providing career opportunities through both work experience and apprenticeships. While only a limited number of work experience placements can be offered each year due to high demand, the port ensures they are meaningful and provide insight into the diverse careers within the maritime sector.

Their apprenticeship programme is even more extensive, offering roles across marine operations, engineering, property, logistics, finance, marketing, and more. In line with this, Shoreham Port has recently enrolled six new apprentices who will begin their training this September, reflecting the Shoreham’s growing investment in developing future talent and supporting the local community.

The team also discuss Shoreham Port’s commitment to safety, including a project with the University of Bath to analyse risk perception and PPE within different age ranges, with particular focus on younger people’s perspective on its use.

Discussions on safety culture covered the importance of company-wide culture and how sub-cultures that develop within different teams need to align to complement each other rather than segregate.

Following the group meeting, Lucy Pritchard, Head of Health and Safety, and Reda Dagilyte, Health and Safety Advisor, gave the PSS team a tour of the port.

PSS fishing port safety manager, Kevin Robinson was particularly interested in the development of Berth Zero, which will enable visiting trawlers to plug-in and support the port-wide drive towards net zero.
Berth Zero upgrades the wharf with plug-in renewable electricity, improved Wi-Fi, and water dispensers. By allowing vessels to use electric power while berthed, it is expected to reduce around 900 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, lower noise levels, and improve crew comfort.

The tour continued with a look at Shoreham Port’s brand-new Mantsinen 140M Hybrilift crane. The crane is designed for handling timber, aggregates, steel, glass, and project cargo.
In line with Shoreham’s sector-leading commitment to reducing emissions, the new crane runs on ISCC-certified HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil), and captures and reuses energy during operations, improving fuel efficiency, reducing emissions, and keeping noise levels low.

It is this new quiet running which has presented some operational challenges with staff who previously relied on the clanking of older machinery to track plant movements! Nonetheless, feedback from operatives has been very positive, and is a firm favourite with operators.

The tour continued with view of quayside operations, where PSS observed unloading of timber. The smooth operation highlights that most activities within a port progress without incident and that sharing this best practice can be as useful as sharing when things don’t go as well.

Many thanks to Shoreham Port for hosting us, and congratulations once again to Megan. The trip was enjoyable and beneficial – especially for newer members of the PSS team.

Getting out and meeting members and highlighting the important work they do, is a vital part of PSS’s work. To organise a tour of your port, please get in touch.