TASPORTS has announced it is now certified under the International Standard for Maritime Pilot Organizations (ISPO).
ISPO is a standard of best practice for pilot organisations. It aims to improve the safety and quality of pilotage operations.
TasPorts obtained ISPO certification in August following an audit of its marine pilotage operations.
ISPO surveyors audited training requirements, minimum qualification standards, VTS compliance, marine safety equipment standards, pilot vessel and tug operations, fatigue risk management and safety and assessment methodologies.
“The certification comes after the strict and vast requirements of the international standard were shown to have been met by the wide-ranging safety procedures already in place for all aspects of Tasmania’s commercial on water operations,” TasPorts said.
“The past 12 months have seen a tremendous effort by numerous TasPorts employees in to preparing the organisation for the rigour of the audit process, which involved a full system review by a panel of internationally accredited surveyors.”
TasPorts said it is now part of “a small group” of pilot operations in Australia that have adopted the ISPO system of operation. The system allows pilot organisations to assess, plan, conduct and monitor pilotage operations.
“International accreditation ensures the pilotage teams across Tasmania continue to work together to exceed international best practice standard, making Tasmanian ports a safer place to operate,” TasPorts said.
“The historical fantastic work done under previous systems in continuously assessing the challenges of the state’s infrastructure, both waterside and landside, are now recognised in their significant contributions to setting the groundwork for meeting the international standards around safety based marine operations.”
Headquartered in the Netherlands, ISPO was established by over 30 pilot organisations around the world, representing over one-thousand marine pilots.
