The ISO: 22301 accreditation recognises business that can demonstrate the ability to mitigate damage and continue operating even in the event of any potential disruption or emergency situations.

As the Statutory Harbour Authority for the River Tees and operator of the fifth largest port in the UK, the port operator has placed a renewed importance on business resilience in recent months. According to PD Ports, this has allowed the company to successfully and seamlessly continue operating following Brexit and the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.

Frans Calje, PD Ports CEO, said: “At PD Ports, we are committed to protecting our people, our customers and all those associated with our business. As we are also the legal guardians of the River Tees, responsible for safe vessel traffic management, we appreciate that disruptive events can – and do – occur, but also that our ability to respond and recover is of the upmost importance.”

PD Ports initially set out its robust plans to boost resilience in early 2020 and partnered with Horizonscan, a business continuity, resilience and crisis management specialist.

The port also passed the audit process with zero advisories, further reinforcing PD Ports’ reputation for excellence. 

Shane McMahon, Lead Consultant at Horizonscan, said: “The successful certification is well deserved recognition for the hard work and leadership commitment shown at all levels within PD Ports. For the small Horizonscan programme team this has been a highly successful and enjoyable partnership. The joint programme team remain committed and are already busy building on the certification success.”

PD Ports and Horizonscan also earned the Strategy through Partnership Award at the 2021 CIR Awards for their continued collaboration.