British Ports Association

Wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year from the Team at the British Ports Association! 🎄 ⛄ 🎁 Thank you for your continuous support over the past year and we look forward to a prosperous new year!

The BPA is getting into the festive season with our nautical tree, we were actually missing an angel for the tree, but thank you to OceanWise Ltd for sending us Sammy The Lobster who has now made our tree complete! 🎄

Today marked the final British Ports Association Council Meeting of the year, and with it, a moment of reflection and gratitude. We’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to three outstanding council members who have been instrumental in shaping the BPA Council but are now heading on to new adventures: Elsabe White – Port of Lancaster Andrew Harston – Associated British Ports David Sawkins – Orkney Harbours Your contributions, insights, and dedication have been invaluable to the BPA and the wider port community. Thank you for your time, leadership, and commitment during your tenure. As you move on to pastures new, know that your impact on the BPA and the industry will be lasting. 🌟 Here's to the future and continuing to strengthen our collective efforts in the maritime sector. 🚢✨

Celebrating 32 Years of the British Ports Association! 🎉⚓️ Today, we proudly celebrate 32 incredible years of the British Ports Association (BPA)! Since its founding in 1992, the BPA has been at the heart of the UK’s port and maritime industry, championing the interests of ports and harbours across the nation. Over the past three decades, the BPA has grown into a vital force, representing over 400 ports, harbours, and terminals. Ports have a vital role in the UK, enabling essential trade, creating jobs, and connecting communities. 🌍 Facilitate Global Trade: Handling over 95% of the UK’s imports and exports by volume, ports are gateways to the global market. 🚢 Drive Economic Growth: Ports contribute billions to the UK economy annually and provide thousands of jobs in industries ranging from shipping to logistics. ♻️ Lead Sustainability Efforts: Ports are hubs for innovation, advancing green technologies and contributing to the UK’s net-zero goals. 🏖️ Support Local Communities: Beyond commerce, ports serve as centre’s for fishing, leisure, and tourism, enriching coastal economies. As the BPA celebrates this milestone, its focus remains on supporting members to meet emerging challenges and seize new opportunities. To all the BPA members, associate members and supporters—thank you for being part of this remarkable journey. Here’s to 32 years of success and many more to come! 🎉🚢 #BPA32 #BritishPortsAssociation #UKPorts

This week we launched new guidance for ports and terminals on combatting modern slavery, people trafficking, and people smuggling at an event at the House of Commons. We are immensely grateful to Lisa T Lewis, who dedicated a significant amount of her own time to authoring this document. The guide provides practical information and case studies to help ports develop and implement their own programme to tackle Modern Slavery and Smuggling. Modern slavery, trafficking and smuggling have common challenges, signs and perpetrators and so action to target them needs to be holistic. It is designed around five core recommendations: 1. Having a policy of zero tolerance 2. Training port staff on what to look for and how to report incidents 3. Collecting, evaluating and sharing data on incident 4. Seeking out collaborators in the value chain to coordinate and cooperate with 5. Disclosing activity with a modern slavery statement It has been designed to complement and support other risk and control frameworks. We are grateful to Amanda Martin, MP for Portsmouth North for hosting the event which brought together business organisations and charities from across the value chain. Read our press release and download a copy of the guide here: https://lnkd.in/eXT8kiDH

The 2024 British Ports Association Annual Conference was hosted in the celebrated maritime city of Portsmouth, at Portsmouth International Port, on 9-10 October 2024.   More than 350 delegates attended the event, enjoying a unique opportunity to come together with stakeholders from across the industry to discuss the latest policy developments, debate topical issues and shape future industry trends within the UK ports and harbours sector.   The action-packed programme included a two-day conference and exhibition, several Insight Hub sessions, an MMO ‘surgery’, and two evening receptions held in Portsmouth’s legendary harbour. The event culminated in a gala dinner, with music and entertainment, to celebrate the 2024 BPA Awards.   The 2024 event, held within the port’s brand new carbon-neutral terminal building, was one of most sustainable BPA conferences ever. Food and drink was sourced from local suppliers, while delegates were sent their own personal travel plans, with suggestions for ways to reduce the environmental impact of their journey to Portsmouth.   We would like to thank all our 2024 sponsors and exhibitors, speakers and panellists, as well as everyone who attended the 2024 BPA Conference. The event was an undoubted success, exploring crucial industry issues and shining a spotlight on the very best our sector has to offer. Thank you also to Portsmouth International Port and Freshwater for all their hard work in putting this together and for hosting an eventful and memorable conference #BPA2024! 👏   Plans are already underway for the 2025 event and we hope you will be able to join us on the Humber Associated British Ports and Grimsby Fish Dock Enterprises Ltd will jointly host the BPA Conference on 15 & 16 October 2025. To register your interest for #BPA2025 please enquire: info@britishports.org.uk

🚢 Exciting Announcement: New One-Day Course – An Introduction to UK Ports! 🚢 We’re thrilled to launch a brand-new one-day course designed for anyone new to the ports industry or working in government or as a supplier. "An Introduction to UK Ports" will provide a comprehensive overview of how this vital industry operates. 📅 Dates: Thursday 21 November 2024 Thursday 11 December 2024 📍 Location: BPA Office, Central London With limited spaces available for our first two sessions, secure your spot today! Places are £495 per person, and BPA members receive a 10% discount. In partnership with PORT CENTRIC LOGISTICS PARTNERS LTD Partners, this course will cover: 🔹 Types of ships, cargoes, and maritime activities 🔹 Port structures, ownership, and governance 🔹 Roles of people and technology in port operations 🔹 Port logistics, connectivity, and global trade patterns 🔹 Trends like digitalisation, automation, sustainability, and more! For more details and to reserve your spot click the link here: https://lnkd.in/ebdRT5DU Don’t miss out on this valuable opportunity to gain insights into the UK’s port industry! ⛴️ #Ports #MaritimeIndustry #Logistics #UKTrade #BPA #PortEducation #Sustainability #Automation

We are thrilled to announce that the British Ports Association #BPA2025 Annual Conference 2025 will be jointly hosted by Grimsby Fish Dock Enterprises Ltd and Associated British Ports (ABP) at the Humber! 🏞️⚓ 📅 Date: 15 & 16 October 2025 📍 Location: The Humber Get ready for #BPA2025TheHumber — where innovation meets tradition at one of the UK’s most important gateways to the world! 🌐🚢 To register your interest, please email: info@britishports.org.uk Stay tuned for more updates! #BPA2025 #TheHumber