Queen's Harbour Master

A Queen's Harbour Master (abbreviated as QHM, also known as King's Harbour Master during the reign of a male monarch) is a harbourmaster and public official in Canada and the United Kingdom. Their official responsibilities includes enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, ensure port operations are done correctly, and maintain safety of navigation.

Assistant Queen's Harbour Master's Office, Chatham Dockyard (built for the Master Attendant in 1770).

Canada

In Canada, the responsibilities of a Queen's Harbour Master's includes assisting warships in and out of harbours, providing refit services through specialty barges, oversee environmental protection of the harbour, and maintain navy bouys for the Royal Canadian Navy.[1][2] In French, a QHM is called a capitaine de port de Sa Majesté (lit. 'Her Majesty's Captain of the Port').

Queen's Harbour Masters are employed in several harbours, including Esquimalt Harbour, Nanoose Harbour, and the CFB Halifax. Ship movement in some Canadian harbours, like Esquimalt Harbour, requires the approval of that harbour's QHM.[3]

A flag for Queen's Harbour Masters was approved on 1 December 1999, and registered with the Canadian Heraldic Authority. The flag features a Canadian flag with a white border, with the maple leaf charged with a plate that includes the royal crown with the letters Q.H.M. inscribed above and C.P.S.M below it.[4]

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a Queen's Harbour Master is a public official with the duty of keeping the port secure for both military and civilian shipping.[5]

There are three Queen's Harbour Masters in the UK, one for each of the major naval ports of the UK: the Clyde Dockyard Port of Gareloch and Loch Long in the Firth of Clyde, the Dockyard Port of Portsmouth in Portsmouth, and the Dockyard Port of Plymouth in Plymouth.[5]

The powers of the Queen's Harbour Masters are defined in the Dockyard Ports Regulation Act 1865.[6] Although legislation does not require it, most QHMs have been serving officers in the Royal Navy.

The Queen's Harbour Masters have their own flag, consisting of a white-bordered Union Flag with a white circle on it, within which there is a crown and the letters "QHM".[7]

Queen's Harbour Masters were first appointed in the first half of the nineteenth century; there was some overlap with the duties of Master Attendants in HM Dockyards, and the two offices were held by the same person in several instances.[8]

References
  1. "Queen's Harbour Master staff on the move". www.lookoutnewspaper.com. Pacific Navy News. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  2. "Canada. Canadian Armed Forces. Queen's Harbour Master (Esquimalt, BC)". www.archeion.ca. Archives Association of Ontario. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  3. "Welcome to Esquimalt Harbour". www.navy-marine.forces.gc.ca. Government of Canada. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  4. "Queen's Harbourmaster". www.gg.ca. Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  5. "About the Queen's Harbour Master". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  6. "www.legislation.gov.uk".
  7. "Queen's Harbour Master, United Kingdom". Flags of the World. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  8. "Navy List (transcribed) 1844".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.