News Release

8th February 2005

Port of Felixstowe Awarded Prestigious Five-Star Safety Rating


08-Feb-2005

The Port of Felixstowe has been awarded the British Safety Council’s (BSC) prestigious Five-Star Award, following an extensive audit of the facility in early January 2005.

The Port achieved an impressive 4,473 points out of a total of 4,600 for the effectiveness of its safety management practices, giving it an overall score of 97.24%. This places it in the highly respected five-star “Excellent” category.

The primary aim of this 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 assessments to fire routes, First Aid provisions to emergency planning – within eight core areas – from safety organisation to continuous improvement – and crosschecks systems in place throughout the whole of the organisation, evaluating their effectiveness and providing feedback.

Chris Lewis, Chief Operating Officer of the Port of Felixstowe, said of the award:

“The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the UK, as well as a having a substantial amount of roll-on/roll-off traffic. It covers an area of over 700 acres, and is the direct employer of over 2,700 people. For an undertaking of such size and complexity to gain this coveted award is a magnificent achievement. It is due solely to the commitment to safety of the Management, Trade Unions and workforce at the Port, and the hard work put in by all its employees over the past eighteen months, that we have managed to reach this high standard.”

He added:

“We hope that by gaining this award we have been able to demonstrate to Government, our customers and the local community that safety at the Port of Felixstowe will always come first, and that together we will continue to work to make the Port a healthier, safer place”.