The Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016 (DGHAR) apply to dangerous goods moving through ports, harbours and harbour areas in Great Britain. They require measures including advance notification, control of dangerous-goods movements, emergency planning, reporting of incidents and designated parking arrangements. DGHAR is specific to harbour operations and is not a general hazardous chemical storage regulation for every workplace.
DGHAR stands for the Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016.
The Regulations came into force on 1 October 2016 and replaced the previous Dangerous Substances in Harbour Areas Regulations 1987.
Their purpose is to reduce the risk of serious incidents involving dangerous goods as they pass through ports, harbours and harbour areas and to limit the consequences if an incident occurs.
The Regulations are supported by HSE’s L155 Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016 – Approved Code of Practice and guidance.
DGHAR applies in Great Britain to harbour areas and to certain related harbour activities covered by the Regulations.
The rules are relevant to activities taking place in locations such as:
The Regulations also contain specific provisions relating to explosives handled on parts of the coast of Great Britain and in relevant territorial waters.
DGHAR does not apply generally to every warehouse or industrial site simply because dangerous substances are stored there.
For DGHAR, dangerous goods are principally defined by reference to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code).
This can include goods presenting hazards such as:
The detailed application of DGHAR depends on whether the goods fall within the definition and whether any exclusions in the Regulations apply.
No. DGHAR contains important exclusions, and not every dangerous substance stored within a harbour area falls within its scope.
For example, dangerous goods other than explosives that are brought into a harbour from inland solely for use or storage within that harbour, and are not intended to be loaded onto a vessel as cargo, can fall outside DGHAR.
Other workplace legislation may still apply to those substances, including DSEAR, COSHH and other health, safety or environmental requirements.
Explosives are treated differently and remain subject to specific DGHAR provisions.
Yes. One of the principal DGHAR requirements is advance notification before dangerous goods are brought into a harbour area.
The master, agent or operator responsible for the vessel, vehicle or other mode of transport must normally provide notice to:
The normal minimum notice period is 24 hours, although the Regulations allow for different arrangements in specified circumstances.
The notification should provide sufficient information to allow the harbour authority and berth operator to understand the dangerous goods entering the harbour and make suitable arrangements.
Information can include:
Much of this information will normally be available from the dangerous-goods transport documentation accompanying the consignment.
DGHAR gives harbour masters powers to control dangerous goods where their condition, containers or associated circumstances create a risk to health and safety.
A harbour master may, where the statutory conditions are met, direct or regulate matters such as:
People to whom a lawful direction is given must comply with it.
Yes. Harbour authorities must prepare an effective emergency plan addressing foreseeable emergencies involving dangerous goods within the harbour area.
Emergency planning should take account of:
The plan should be coordinated with other employers, berth operators, emergency services and other relevant organisations where appropriate.
Berth operators have duties to communicate relevant emergency arrangements to the masters of vessels using their berths.
This helps ensure that ship and shore personnel understand how emergencies will be managed and how their respective arrangements interact.
The purpose is to improve coordination between vessel operations, berth activities and the wider harbour emergency plan.
An untoward incident is an incident involving, or threatening, the containment of dangerous goods within a harbour area that could create a serious health and safety risk or a risk to the safety of a vessel.
Examples could include:
DGHAR requires relevant incidents to be reported immediately to the appropriate harbour personnel.
Where an untoward incident occurs during a dangerous-goods handling operation, the person controlling the operation must stop the activity as soon as it is safe to do so.
The incident must be reported immediately to the relevant parties, which can include:
The operation should not restart until it is considered safe to do so.
Yes. DGHAR requires berth operators, so far as reasonably practicable, to provide a suitable designated parking area for road vehicles carrying dangerous goods.
Where a berth operator cannot provide a suitable area, the harbour authority must, so far as reasonably practicable, designate one.
Parking arrangements should consider:
Drivers carrying dangerous goods must use the designated area where one has been provided and must not park in a way that creates a health or safety risk.
Yes, but its storage provisions should be understood in the context of harbour operations and the transit of dangerous goods.
Harbour authorities can make byelaws regulating the entry, carriage, handling and storage of dangerous goods within their harbour area.
Suitable storage arrangements may need to consider:
HSE guidance such as HSG71 may also be relevant where packaged dangerous substances are being stored.
See our HSG71 Chemical Warehousing guide.
No. DGHAR does not prescribe one universal storage building or product suitable for all dangerous goods handled within harbour areas.
The appropriate storage arrangement depends on the substances, quantities, packaging, duration of storage, port operations and accident scenarios involved.
Depending on the application, controls may include:
Any storage specification should be based on the actual hazards and wider legal requirements applying to the site.
DGHAR and DSEAR can both be relevant within a harbour area, but they address different aspects of dangerous-substance risk.
DGHAR contains specific requirements for dangerous goods passing through harbour areas and coordinating ship-to-shore safety arrangements.
DSEAR applies more generally to workplace risks from dangerous substances, including fire, explosion and similar events.
A port operator may therefore need to comply with both regimes depending on the activities and substances involved.
See our DSEAR Regulations 2002 guide.
Some harbour facilities may also fall within COMAH where dangerous substances are present at or above the qualifying quantities in the COMAH Regulations.
COMAH addresses major-accident hazards at qualifying establishments, while DGHAR focuses specifically on dangerous goods and harbour operations.
HSE guidance makes clear that a harbour authority’s DGHAR emergency plan may still need to cover parts of the harbour not already addressed by COMAH emergency planning.
See our COMAH Regulations 2015 guide.
HSG71 provides general HSE guidance on storing packaged dangerous substances in warehouses and storage compounds.
It can therefore provide useful supporting guidance for dangerous-goods storage arrangements within ports and harbours.
DGHAR remains the specific legislation governing relevant harbour-area activities, while HSG71 provides broader chemical warehousing guidance.
DGHAR contains specific controls for explosives in harbour areas.
Subject to the exemptions in the Regulations, explosives cannot be brought into or handled within a harbour area unless the activity is covered by an appropriate explosives licence.
Licensing provisions can also apply to loading or unloading explosives on the coast of Great Britain and in relevant territorial waters.
HSE normally issues these licences, although the Office for Nuclear Regulation may perform this role for relevant nuclear sites.
Explosives activities require specialist assessment and should not be treated as ordinary hazardous chemical storage.
No. The Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016 discussed on this page apply in Great Britain.
Northern Ireland has separate regulatory arrangements for ports, dangerous goods and workplace health and safety.
Businesses operating through ports in Northern Ireland should therefore check the legislation and guidance applicable there rather than assuming DGHAR applies unchanged.
Chemstore designs hazardous material storage solutions that can support the controls identified for dangerous goods stored or handled at ports, harbours and associated logistics facilities.
For drums, IBCs and packaged hazardous substances, the Hazvault range provides bunded chemical storage options for a range of inventories.
For larger or more complex requirements, Chemstore provides bespoke chemical warehouses and storage facilities that can be configured around segregation, containment, fire protection, ventilation, access and operational requirements.
Where flammable substances are involved, the Firevault range provides fire-rated hazardous material storage options.
The appropriate solution should be selected according to the dangerous goods, quantities, duration of storage, transport activities, harbour requirements and findings of the site-specific risk assessment.
A Chemstore storage product does not by itself make a harbour operation compliant with DGHAR.
The Health and Safety Executive and UK legislation website provide the primary sources for DGHAR requirements.
This page provides general information about the Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016. It does not replace DGHAR, HSE L155, the IMDG Code, harbour byelaws, dangerous-goods transport requirements, a site-specific risk assessment or advice from a competent person.
The requirements applying to a particular port or harbour activity should always be determined from the dangerous goods, quantities, transport arrangements, harbour operations and specific risks involved.
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