As the organisation responsible for the safe operation of Jersey’s harbours, Ports of Jersey appointed the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS UK) to conduct a comprehensive piece of work to address a variety of health and safety needs.
With golden beaches and sparkling waters, Jersey is a haven for a wide range water sports and activities from canoeing, kayaking and water skiing to wakeboarding, jet skiing and banana boat rides. Such a mix of activities must be managed safely. These businesses are licenced by Ports of Jersey and with an increasing number of the concessions setting up along the water’s edge around the island, Ports of Jersey commissioned RLSS UK to conduct a review of safety to ensure a fair balance of capacity, competency and effective management systems.
RLSS UK was also asked to evaluate Ports of Jersey’s licencing agreements, to ensure they were robust and fit for purpose so that all licenced concessions met best practice standards of health and safety.
Finally, RLSS UK investigated the speed limits around St. Brelade’s Bay and St. Ouens Bay, which had been subject to a number of complaints from the public. RLSS UK recommended that Ports of Jersey extend the 5-knot speed limit zones across all areas used by swimmers and surfers. This was duly implemented in St. Brelade’s Bay, by Ports of Jersey, resulting in a significant drop in complaints.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my work with the team at Ports of Jersey who were keen to find real workable solutions to some contentious conflicts of interest. We got out on the sand and met with many stakeholders and listened to different opinions. The review led to the publication of the excellent `Enjoying Our Coast Safely’ guide, which has since been used as a template by other coastal authorities,” says Damian Hall, Senior Consultant with RLSS UK.
“Working with Damian was very interesting and rewarding. It was great to see we had mostly got it right but just needed a few tweaks. The endorsement from RLSS UK to our licencing and enforcement regime gives a positive message that we take on water safety seriously here in Jersey,” says Captain Peter M Moore, Maritime Standards Manager at Ports of Jersey.
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