Harwich Haven Authority (HHA) welcomes the opportunity to provide evidence to the Transport Committee as part of its inquiry into the revised Draft National Policy Statement for Ports (NPSP), published in June 2025.
HHA is a statutory harbour authority and trust port responsible for one of the UK’s most important deep-water harbour areas, supporting major container terminals, offshore wind activity, bulk cargo operations, and critical pilotage and vessel traffic services. Our statutory remit includes the maintenance of navigational safety, conservancy, and the efficient operation of marine access to the Haven Ports, which together form a key part of the UK’s trade and energy infrastructure.
We strongly support the modernisation of the NPSP and its recognition of the enduring need for port capacity, sustainability, and decarbonisation. Below, we provide evidence structured around key issues of relevance to the Committee’s inquiry.
1. Support for the Strategic Aims of the NPSP
We welcome the reaffirmation of a compelling and enduring need for additional port capacity to 2050. Forecasts align with our operational experience of growth in containerised trade, offshore wind, and clean energy supply chains. The emphasis on streamlining planning, addressing climate change, and supporting decarbonisation reflects the realities facing harbours like Harwich.
We also strongly support recognition of ports as critical nodes in wider infrastructure systems, linking surface transport, energy transmission, and grid connectivity.
2. Role of Statutory Harbour Authorities and Trust Ports
It is vital that the NPSP distinguishes between commercial port developers and statutory harbour authorities (SHAs) such as HHA. As a trust port governed under Modernising Trust Ports guidance, HHA acts in the public interest, reinvesting surpluses to maintain navigational safety and operational readiness.
We recommend explicit policy recognition of SHAs and reference to the Port Marine Safety Code
(PMSC) as the relevant safety benchmark for assessing impacts of development on marine
3. Dredging as Essential Operational Infrastructure
Maintenance and capital dredging at Harwich are not discretionary activities but statutory obligations, fundamental to enabling the UK’s largest container vessels to trade safely.
We urge that the NPSP recognise dredging and sediment management as nationally significant operational infrastructure, assessed proportionately in light of their safety-critical purpose, rather than solely through an environmental lens.
4. Navigational Risk and Offshore Development
The expansion of offshore wind and subsea infrastructure presents increasing interactions with port approach routes.
We recommend that the NPSP require developers to conduct formal Navigational Risk Assessments (NRAs) using the precautionary principle, in direct consultation with SHAs. Strategic areas such as the Sunk Traffic Separation Scheme, the deep-water gateway to Harwich Haven and the Thames Estuary, must be safeguarded.
We also propose a presumption against routing offshore infrastructure (e.g., cables) through navigationally critical areas, with SHAs empowered to object where risks cannot be mitigated.
5. Supporting and Associated Infrastructure
We support the NPSP’s broad inclusion of landside transport and utility infrastructure within DCO scope. However, the policy should more clearly define associated works such as berth deepening, access roads, intermodal terminals, and grid connections as valid DCO components.
This clarity is essential for integrated operations in port systems such as Harwich–Felixstowe, where safe and efficient logistics depend on seamless connections across marine, road, rail, and offshore networks.
6. Future Fuels and Clean Maritime Transition
The NPSP must explicitly recognise that clean maritime growth will require substantial investment in future fuels and bunkering infrastructure, including methanol, ammonia, hydrogen, and electrification.
Fuel storage, safety zones, and bunkering facilities should be treated as nationally significant port development, with policy support for early adoption. Ports must be enabled to act as energy nodes, supporting both vessel decarbonisation and national energy security.
7. Changing Bulk Cargo Profiles and Climate Shifts
Climate change and global trade realignments are already reshaping bulk cargo flows. Increasing imports of grain, animal feed, and agricultural commodities from new origins require flexible storage, modernised handling facilities, and continued access for larger deep-draught vessels.
We urge that the NPSP support investment in resilient bulk cargo infrastructure to safeguard the UK’s food and agricultural supply chains.
Conclusion
HHA welcomes the revised NPSP as a vital framework to provide long-term clarity for port development. We particularly support its long-term outlook, recognition of climate imperatives, and ambition to simplify the DCO process. To strengthen the policy further, we recommend that the NPSP explicitly recognise the statutory roles and responsibilities of harbour authorities and trust ports, with reference to the Port Marine Safety Code as a relevant standard. It should also provide clear recognition of dredging as an essential operational requirement, safeguard critical navigational areas by granting SHAs a stronger statutory voice and explicitly include future fuels infrastructure as nationally significant port development. Finally, we urge that the NPSP support investment in bulk cargo handling and storage to enhance resilience in the face of shifting trade and climate-driven supply chain challenges.
We would be pleased to provide oral evidence or supplementary material to assist the Committee in its inquiry.
July 2025