This places it in the highly respected five star 'Excellent' category alongside Hutchison UK sister ports Harwich and Felixstowe, which received the accolade in January and February respectively.

The primary aim of the BSC audit was to provide an independent external assessment of the safety management systems developed by the Port and the effectiveness of their implementation. The audit covers 82 separate elements from risk assessment to fire routes and from first aid provisions to emergency planning. There are eight core areas, from safety organisation to continuous improvement, and crosscheck systems in place throughout the whole of the organisation evaluating their effectiveness and providing feedback.

Speaking of the award, David Gledhill, chief operating officer of Thamesport said, 'As Thamesport continues to attract an ever increasing share of the container shipping market, it is imperative that we have robust safety management procedures in place to enable us to handle this traffic safely and securely. We will continue to strive towards our ultimate goal of a zero percent accident rate.'

MJ Information No: 20789