Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
A boat skipper has been fined more than £930 for speeding in Weymouth harbour and navigating without care.
Harbourmaster Ed Carter gave the news to the committee for the three Dorset Council-owned harbours.
He said the prosecution had been the first under the 2024 General Directions Order for the harbour with another case pending – although that had been delayed by the courts until July 2027.
The meeting heard that there was also a prosecution, under the orders, pending against a jet skier.
Weymouth harbour consultative committee’s Tim Day told the meeting that he welcomed the prosecution: “We need to publicise that there are rules and regulations and if you don’t obey them there are consequences,” he said.
Mr Carter in his report to the committee said that anti-social behaviour had remained a problem with 64 incidents for his staff and police to deal with throughout the summer with people jumping into the harbour from near the Town Bridge, the Pleasure Pier and Quayside with several attempts to throw items into the harbour, including life buoys.
He told the meeting that fortunately there had been no serious consequences from any of the incidents.
“The harbour team has recorded numerous interventions throughout the season involving groups of young people jumping from quaysides, piers, pontoons and harbour infrastructure.
“Whilst much of this behaviour may appear low-level in nature, it presents a significant safety concern due to the proximity of vessel traffic, commercial operations, harbour structures, bridge movements and other navigational hazards.
“Harbour staff have been required on occasion to warn vessels of swimmers, patrol affected areas, and work with partner agencies to reduce the risk of serious injury. Encouragingly, despite the frequency of intervention, no serious injuries associated with these activities have been reported,” said Mr Carter.
Mr Carter said that vessel-related incidents remained the largest category and included speeding, excess wash, red-light infringements at Town Bridge, minor collisions, machinery failures and vessels requiring assistance following loss of propulsion.
“As in previous reporting periods, most incidents were low severity and were resolved through advice, intervention by harbour staff, or routine harbour procedures. The data demonstrates that vessel manoeuvring and compliance with harbour speed limits continue to represent the most frequent operational challenges within the port,” said the harbourmaster.
Among the other incidents reported were five of minor pollution although all were low-level and were dealt with without needing a full spill response.
