Sustainability

Plan for protection and emergencies

Protection and emergency plans

PORT EMERGENCY PLAN

The Chairman, Management and all the staff at the Port Authority of Castellon are firmly committed to protecting human health and life, and looking after and safeguarding the environment, with the sole objective of averting any incident that could affect the above values and the continuity of the Port’s operations and the integrity of its Port Community.

The Port of Castellon’s Emergency Plan, drawn up and implemented in accordance with the provisions of Royal Decree 393/2007, of 23 March, which approves the Basic Emergency Regulations for facilities, establishments and activities which may give rise to emergency situations, also integrates the Internal Emergency Plan (IEP) in accordance with the provisions of Royal Decree 145/89, providing a structure for the organisation and the resources required to deal with and minimise the events which may involve a situation of risk to life, the environment and/or property..

The Port of Castellon’s Emergency Plan is based on and is coordinated with the emergency plans of the different concessions and terminals in the Port, which establish the corresponding safety measures. Similarly, the Port of Castellon’s Internal Emergency Plan is integrated and coordinated with its External Emergency Plan and the Castellon Territorial Emergency Plan (PLATEMCAS). The Emergency Plan is integrated with the above-mentioned plans through a series of documents to coordinate and mobilise resources, establishing liaison and information procedures between them, and the corresponding joint actions for the management and control of any possible emergencies.

The objectives of the Port of Castellon’s Emergency Plan are as follows:

  • Risk assessment and identification
  • Protection in non-concession service areas
  • Technical assistance from APC security staff and coordination with concessionaires and terminals in the event of an emergency
  • Coordination with the Harbourmaster’s Office when a ship is involved in an emergency.
  • Coordination with Civil Defence emergency plans at local, PLATEMCAS and regional level.
  • The Port of Castellon’s Emergency Plan defines the organisational structure, responsibilities and decision-making for any possible emergencies in the Port Authority service area through the INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM (ICS) method. It also establishes the protocols for communications and for mobilising in-house and external resources (Castellon municipal fire brigade, Provincial Council fire brigade, company fire brigade, AVSRE, security forces, etc.) to control and minimise any incidents that may occur in the Port of Castellon’s facilities, in order to:
    • Protect human life, health and the environment.
    • Prevent the occurrence of incidents or possible emergency situations as far as possible.
    • Safely control incidents that could cause an emergency.
    • Minimise damage to the facility and the environment.

The Port of Castellon’s Emergency Plan’s degree of effectiveness and operability is evaluated regularly through exercises and drills.

Download the Port of Castellon’s Emergency Plan Operating Manual (Spanish only)

Spanish Royal Decree 393/2007, which approves the Basic Emergency Regulations for facilities, establishments and activities which may give rise to emergency situations, establishes the following obligations for concessionaires who must:

  1. Draw up an Emergency Plan in accordance with the minimum content defined in Annex II and the criteria in section 3.3.
  2. Submit the Emergency Plan to the body responsible for granting the licence or permit for the start-up or operation of the business activities.
  3. Deploy the measures required to implement and maintain the efficacy of the plan.
  4. Submit the data specified in Annex IV to the corresponding register.
  5. Inform and train staff on the contents of the Emergency Plan.
  6. Provide the necessary information to integrate the Emergency Plan into other higher-level plans, the Port Authority’s Internal Emergency Plan and the Civil Defence Plan.
  7. Inform the Port Authority of any modification or change affecting emergencies.
  8. Cooperate with the competent authorities within the framework of the applicable Civil Defence regulations.
  9. Inform the Port Authority sufficiently in advance when carrying out drills.

Certification of implementation will be issued as established by the competent authorities.

All concessions and authorisations in the port service area must have their own emergency plans and coordinate them with this Emergency Plan.

Any incident that triggers the Emergency Plan of all the concessions and authorisations located within the port’s service area must be reported to the Port Authority’s Emergency Control Centre, Tel. No.: +34 964 737 202.

Coordination with concessions

The APC has taken the following measures to prevent and control accidents in the concessions:

  • Requirement to follow the regulations governing emergencies in administrative concessions and authorisations.
  • Safety studies and emergency plans must be submitted by concessions where hazardous goods are permitted, handled and/or stored (goods affected by R.D. 145/1989).
  • Request for the Emergency Plans of the rest of the port concessions that are affected by the Basic Emergency Regulations, or by other specific applicable regulations.
  • Forwarding of the results obtained by the concessions in the accident risk identification and assessment to the Port of Castellon’s Internal Emergency Plan.
  • Coordination between the competent Civil Defence authorities and the concessions that could be affected by an emergency.

Coordination between the Port Authority and the Harbourmaster’s Office

In accordance with the provisions of Article 128 of R.D. 145/1989, when a ship is involved in an emergency or endangered by it, the sole command of the operations carried out inside the port area shall be exercised by the Port’s Harbourmaster.

Accordingly, the Internal Emergency Plan considers the following aspects:

  • Coordination between the Harbourmaster’s Office and the APC, to analyse incidents or accidents involving vessels in the APC service area.
  • The APC shall be at the disposal of the Harbourmaster’s Office to provide support for an emergency involving a vessel and vice versa. Additionally, should there be an emergency involving an oil spill in the port service area waters, this will be handled according to the Port Authority of Castellon’s Internal Maritime Plan.

Integration and coordination of emergency plans and civil defence plans at local and regional level (regional plans, special plans and External Emergency Plan).

  • Cooperation with the competent Civil Defence authorities to draw up and implement the Port’s External Emergency Plan.
  • Immediate notification to competent Civil Defence authorities should there be any emergency in the port.
  • To act under the coordination and guidelines of the competent Civil Defence authorities as stipulated in the Port’s External Emergency Plan.
mapa del puerto de Castellón para emergencias portuarias

Centro Integrado de Coordinación de Servicios (C.I.C.S.)

Dicho centro se encuentra ubicado el Centro de Control de Emergencias C.C.E. del puerto. La estructura organizativa del C.C.E. se articula a través del Centro de Coordinación de Servicios donde, en una sola estructura, se engloban las personas que participan en los diversos grupos. Las órdenes de la Dirección de la Emergencia son ejecutadas por los diversos Grupos de Actuación. Desde este centro se coordina y dirige la lucha contra la emergencia, y en él se sitúan la Dirección de la Emergencia, el Comité Asesor, el Gabinete de Prensa y los Jefes de Grupo.

Es el centro que activa el Plan de Avisos en caso de emergencia en la zona de servicio portuario y evalúa la misma, este centro depende de la Autoridad Portuaria de Castellón y de la Sociedad de Salvamento y Seguridad Marítima (SASEMAR), según Convenio de colaboración entre ambas.

Entre las funciones del C.I.C.S., cabe destacar:

  • La seguridad de la vida en el mar.
  • La seguridad de la navegación.
  • La eficiencia de los movimientos de los buques.
  • La protección del medio ambiente marino.
  • La seguridad de las infraestructuras.
  • Dar soporte a los sistemas de seguridad protección marítima.
  • Dar soporte a los servicios de las Autoridades con competencias en el entorno portuario.