Our ports and harbour services support ballast water management, environmental assessment, port design & management and marine ecology.

Our innovative Total Quality Assurance solutions help our clients improve their policies and operations.  Through environmental modelling we quantify the impacts of policies, plans and procedures and put these in the context of a complex regulatory landscape.  Intertek’s port and harbour services include environmental permitting, hydrodynamic modelling, sediment transport and coastal process modelling, water quality modelling, and environmental assessment against a range of international regulations and European directives. 


Port and Harbour Design and Operations

Intertek’s port and harbour design and operations services provide cost-effective solutions that help you manage your assets’ impact on the environment in a safe and sustainable manner. We evaluate the impact of port and harbour design in terms of hydrodynamic assessment, coastal processes, flood assessment, drainage impact assessment and water quality assessment (e.g. Habitats Directive, Water Framework Directive).  These can be applied to evaluate a design (e.g. harbour design) or to optimise an operation (e.g. vessel scheduling). 

Metocean services 

Metocean services are used to provide marine engineers with information relating to design criteria and weather window assessments.  Intertek’s extensive analysis enables you to understand the meteorology and wave climate throughout the harbour waters and can assist in scoping, costing and scheduling project phases.   

Ballast Water Management

We help our port and harbour clients prevent and minimise the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms to the environment. Intertek provides rigorous scientific assessments of ballast water management that allow our clients to evaluate impacts against regulations and guidelines.  Our sampling teams and laboratories support site surveys, environmental assessments  and monitoring plans.

Oil Spill Contingency Planning

Intertek’s experts evaluate and develop port oil spill contingency plans to suit client specific needs.  Our services include macro statistical assessment of oil spill risk (e.g. derived from vessel density), assessment of specific events (e.g. weather conditions, oil type) and development of Oil Spill Contingency Response (OSCAR) models that target the movement of oil slicks and help identify the best way to contain and recover oil spills.  

Integrated Environmental Modelling

Intertek provides cutting-edge solutions for environmental assessment, environmental compliance, investment support and asset management.  Our integrated environmental modelling and assessment helps you quantify and develop a better understanding of the relationship between your port and harbour operations and the surrounding environment.  

This enables you to make informed decisions based on quantified scientific evidence relating to your operations.  Our experts build and apply computer models of harbour and coastal waters to provide you with targeted assessments that allow for operations performance optimisation.    

Environmental Assessment

Intertek's environmental impact assessment services in the port and harbour sector include Strategic Environmental Assessment, Habitats Regulation Appraisal and Appropriate Assessment.  We have support development of plans (including Power Masterplans) and policies for ports and harbours. 

Data and Information Management

Our experts specify and manage data collection and monitoring programmes.  By providing storage management and distribution of data, our programmes provide valuable port and harbour knowledge that’s critical to project success. Our GIS mapping and Data Management systems allow you to make informed decisions during operations and improve your understanding of each data set and how it relates to other data within a spatial and temporal context.