Review of Trust Ports

Overview

The Department for Infrastructure is inviting the public to have their say as a consultation is launched on its policy relating to Ports and any legislative changes that are necessary for this sector. 

More details can be found on the consultation page on the Department's website. 

Why your views matter

Our ports play a vital role in our local economy and are the main gateway for imports and exports.  As we rely heavily on ports for essential provisions it is important that they can operate as competitively as possible.    

In Northern Ireland, four out of the five main commercial ports – Belfast, Foyle, Warrenpoint and Coleraine are known as ‘Trust Ports’. The fifth, Larne Port, is privately operated. The context all our ports operate within has evolved over the years as various challenges have emerged and continue to do so, such as high supply chain cost inflation and the requirement to decarbonise.

It has therefore become necessary to review the policy and legislation associated with our Trust Ports as well as to clarify and formalise the relationship between the Department and the Trust Ports.

Much of this consultation deals with issues relating to Trust Ports but there are some legislative areas that we will touch on that relate to all our Statutory Harbour Authorities (SHAs).  We would welcome your views on how the Department’s policy can be updated and any legislative changes required as a result. 

The following policy issues have been identified as the focus of this consultation and they are summarised as:

• ONS classification.
• Commercial Powers available to the Trust Ports.
• New and Amending Harbour Orders; and
• Marine Safety Legislation.

As part of the consultation, we are inviting you to consider the above categories and respond to the questions posed by the consultation. 

If you require a paper copy of the consultation you can contact the Gateways team at the following email address:

• gateways@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk