Help us to improve the website - give your feedback.

Legal requirements

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act), employers, people in control of premises, the self-employed and employees must ensure the health and safety of others and themselves so far as is reasonably practicable..

There are also regulations that apply to all industries because many of the hazards will be the same regardless of the industry involved. But some industries do have specific pieces of legislation. In the port industry, these include:

The Docks Regulations 1988 were in force until 6th April 2014. The old ACOP 'Safety in Docks' (COP25) was withdrawn at the same time and replaced by a new Safety in Docks ACOP (L148)[33]

The HSW Act and associated regulations do not apply to seamen working on board ship under the control of the ship's master. Comparable Merchant Shipping Health & Safety Regulations do apply to ship's crew and are enforced by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)[34].

Link URLs in this page

  1. Ports and dockshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/index.htm
  2. Overview - Ports industryhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/hse.htm
  3. Key industry stakeholdershttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/stakeholders.htm
  4. Enforcing authoritieshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/enforcing.htm
  5. Overview - Legal requirementshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/legal-requirements.htm
  6. Dangerous goods - (DGHAR) https://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/dangerous-goods.htm
  7. Fishing vesselshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/fishing-vessels.htm
  8. FAQs on ports and dockshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/faqs.htm
  9. Overview - Freight container safetyhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/containers.htm
  10. Freight container regulationshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/regulations.htm
  11. Container design and manufacture approvalhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/container-approval.htm
  12. Container examination schemeshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/container-examination.htm
  13. RAIB - accident reportshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/raib.htm
  14. Overview - Topicshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/topics.htm
  15. Workplace transporthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/transport.htm
  16. Lifting operationshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/lifting-operations.htm
  17. Working at heighthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/falls.htm
  18. Dusty cargoeshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/dusty-cargoes.htm
  19. Musculoskeletal disordershttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/msd.htm
  20. Whole-body vibrationhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/vibration.htm
  21. Slips and tripshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/slips-and-trips.htm
  22. Confined spaceshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/confined-spaces.htm
  23. Overview - Access to vesselshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/access-to-vessels.htm
  24. Linkspans and walkwayshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/linkspans-walkways.htm
  25. Standards at quayside ladders https://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/quayladder.htm
  26. Overview - Resourceshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/resources.htm
  27. Publications and guidancehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/publications.htm
  28. Case studieshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/case-studies.htm
  29. Statisticshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/statistics.htm
  30. Useful linkshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/links.htm
  31. Duties under the Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016 (DGHAR)https://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/dangerous-goods.htm
  32. The Loading and Unloading of Fishing Vessels Regulations 1988https://www.hse.gov.uk/ports/fishing-vessels.htm
  33. Safety in Docks ACOP (L148)https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l148.htm
  34. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency
  35. L148 - Safety in docks. ACOPhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l148.htm
  36. L155 - Dangerous goods in harbour areas Regs 2016https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l155.htm
  37. Container approval - Green guidehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/dis8.htm
  38. Container examination - Yellow guidehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/dis9.htm
  39. Quick guide to health and safety in portshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg446.htm
  40. Port Skills and Safety https://www.portskillsandsafety.co.uk/resources
  41. Department for Transport - Portshttps://www.gov.uk/transport/ports-harbours-and-offshore-installations
  42. International Maritime Organisation (IMO)http://www.imo.org/
  43. Port skills and safetyhttps://www.portskillsandsafety.co.uk/resources
  44. Logisticshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/logistics/index.htm
  45. Risk managementhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/index.htm
  46. Explosivehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/explosives/index.htm
  47. Work equipmenthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/index.htm
  48. Work at heighthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/index.htm
  49. Workplace transporthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/index.htm

Glossary of abbreviations/acronyms on this page

DGHAR
Duties under the Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016
RAIB
Rail Accident Investigation Branch
ACOP
Approved Code of Practice

Is this page useful?

Updated 2022-07-07