TruckandTrackAutumn2019

Truck and Track Autumn 2019 www.truckandtrack.com 76 PORTS During this year’s Maritime Safety Week, Associated British Ports (ABP) announced that it hasbecome thefirstUKport operator to provide employees with an exclusive range of women’s personal protective equipment (PPE). The news represents an important milestone in ABP’s efforts to support the role of women in maritime, whilst also further improving safety standards and choice for its workforce. The rollout of the new PPE range follows an extensive employee consultation process and successful trials. It is also part of ABP’s wider commitment to Maritime UK’s Women in Maritime Charter, an initiative which ABP helped launch in September 2018 to promote the role of women in the maritime sector. The issue with traditional PPE in the sector was that many products had been primarily designed to fit men and were often too large, too heavy and poor fitting when worn by women. This newrange of specially-designedprotective clothing, which also includes maternity- focused products, is lightweight and further improves safety, whilst also promoting greater inclusivity across the business and encouragingmorewomen to consider a career in maritime. To deliver this milestone, ABP teamed up with specialist manufacturer, Anchor Safety, to create the new range of PPE, which has been manufactured using the highest quality materials available, ensuring maximum visibility, breathability, weatherproofing and comfort. Benedicta Moxon, ABP Compliance Business Manager, said: “It has been fantastic to be part of aproject thatwillmake a tangible difference to how comfortable and safe women feel at work. At ABP we are committed to creating a workplace which makes everyone feel valued and empowered to thrive. This enhanced range of PPE will achieve these goals, while combining great design with maximum functionality.” ABP first UK port operator to adopt women’s personal protective equipment Tina Raleigh, ABP Quality and Environment Systems Manager, Compliance wearing newwomen’s PPE The Department for Transport (DfT), in partnership with ABP’s Port of Southampton, has launched the UK’s first Port Economic Partnership (PEP), an innovative initiative to create stronger links between ports and Government, to maximise long-termtrade and economic growth. The Partnership was launched at an event at London International ShippingWeek, on board the NLV Pharos lightship. As part of its strategy, ‘Maritime 2050 – Navigating the Future’, launched in January 2019, the Government outlined the creation of Port Economic Partnerships as one way of creating a strong business environment for ports to thrive, in turn, boosting trade and driving the national economy. Areas that the Partnership will focus on include leveraging the maximum benefit from public and private sector investment and ensuring that planning processes are as efficient as possible. It is anticipated that this will better facilitate ports’ investment in new freight-handling facilities and other infrastructure needed to grow trading volumes and maintain the UK’s position as a leading maritime nation. The Partnership will focus on ensuring that public and private sector organisations at local, regional and national levels, work together to enable improved links with our global trading partners, ready for a post-Brexit world where the resilience of our trading hubs is more critical than ever before. The UK’s first PEP will see the Port of Southampton, the UK’s number one export port and Europe’s leading cruise turnaround destination, work closely with DfT to trial the concept The Maritime minister, Nusrat Ghani, said: “I am delighted to announce the first Port Economic Partnership with the Port of Southampton. This fantastic endeavour will be key to supporting the ambitions of Government, helping to cement the UK as a leading maritime nation. Not only this, but this project will also allow the Port of Southampton to drive sector growth, enhance its offer to customers and serve its local community.” Alastair Welch, ABP’s Regional Director for Southampton, said: “We are proud and excited to be joining the Government in launch- ing the UK’s first Port Economic Partnership. It’s great to see the Government put maritime at the heart of the nation’s economic future. This is another fantastic initiative capable of turbo-charg- ing trade and boosting the nation’s exports. “ABP looks forward to working collaboratively with Government to deliver the benefits which the Partnership will bring to support the Port of Southampton’s future growth. Ultimately, this important step will safeguard our position as the UK’s number one export port and a leading gateway for international trade, making signifi- cant contributions to jobs and the UK economy, both regionally and nationally.” Port of Southampton & Government launch UK’s first Port Economic Partnership Associated British Ports’ Port of Southampton LOADS MORE CUSTOMER SERVICE 01543 420 121 www. deker .co.uk