Activities in Port Operations

Activities in port are ship related and cargo related. When a ship arrives at the entrance buoy of a port, the pilot comes aboard the ship to help the master in manoeuvres to the designated place. If no berth is available on arrival, the ship is assigned an anchorage area. If the berth is available, the ship is berthed with the help of tug(s), depending on ship size and port’s rules and regulations. At this point, line handling services are provided at the berth. In particular, the time when a first line is connected to the pier (or dock) is very important since it is the starting point of the so-called ‘berthing time’. The berthing time stops when the last line from the ship let’s go of the bollard as it leaves the berth. When berthed, the Custom, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) authorities may board the ship. Usually cargo handling is not made until the authorities have completed their inspections, with the exception of the container shipping business (MariEMS 2017).