Busan Port Authority wins top safety honor at IAPH world congress

The Busan Port Authority said its "Busan Port mooring safety management system" took first place in the safety and health category of the World Ports Sustainability Program Award at the International Association of Ports and Harbors world congress, held Tuesday through Friday in London.

The International Association of Ports and Harbors has held its sustainability awards annually since 2018 to advance the UN's SDGs in the port sector. The association selects a top entry in each of six categories — climate and energy, digitalization, environmental protection, infrastructure, community contribution, and safety and health — and presents the winners as models of sustainable port development worldwide.

Mooring work at Busan Port is essential for the safe berthing and departure of vessels, but the sector had long faced structural challenges, including an aging workforce, a fragmented business structure, and the absence of standardized procedures and training. The Busan Port Authority developed the integrated "Busan Port mooring safety management system" — the first of its kind in South Korea — to address those on-site structural problems and raise safety management standards.

Drawing on a comprehensive probe of all mooring companies and field operations at Busan Port, the authority established standard operating procedures, safety guidelines and minimum crew requirements to systematize and standardize work practices. It also introduced institutional reforms, including tighter registration requirements for mooring operators and the incorporation of safety standards into relevant regulations. In addition, the authority built the country's first dedicated hands-on training facility for mooring workers and launched a practical safety education program.

"This award is meaningful because it recognizes that Busan Port's field-centered safety management model has been acknowledged not only domestically but as a best practice that ports around the world can share," Busan Port Authority President Song Sang-geun said.