Description
Plan, direct, and coordinate harbor and terminal operations—including vessel traffic, berthing, cargo flow, and marine services—in alignment with port policies and federal, state, and local maritime regulations. Oversee safety, security, environmental compliance, infrastructure, and stakeholder coordination to ensure efficient, reliable port operations.
- • Prepare and manage the harbor department budget and forecasts.
- • Supervise harbor operations personnel, including vessel scheduling, line-handling, patrol, and maintenance crews.
- • Plan, develop, and implement harbor safety, security, and emergency response programs and drills.
- • Inspect docks, piers, channels, moorings, aids to navigation, and harbor craft; order testing, maintenance, or repairs.
- • Organize and direct the work of subordinate staff to meet departmental standards and service levels.
- • Coordinate with pilots, tug and tow providers, terminal operators, and regulatory agencies to align daily operations.
- • Analyze berth utilization, channel capacity, and landside interfaces to optimize vessel turnaround and throughput.
- • Resolve vessel delays, congestion, incidents, hazardous spills, or tenant and customer issues.
- • Develop and document standard and emergency procedures for arrivals/departures, bunkering, hot work, hazardous cargo, and severe weather.
- • Monitor operations for compliance with safety, security, environmental, labor, tariff, and maritime regulations.
- • Evaluate financial impacts of berth plans, tariff changes, service modes, carrier mix, and capital projects.
- • Monitor inventories of harbor assets and supplies, such as fenders, lines, fuel, and spill-response equipment.
- • Establish and track KPIs for vessel turnaround, berth productivity, safety, security, and environmental performance.
- • Oversee import/export vessel and cargo movements for compliance with customs, security, and environmental requirements.
- • Prepare recommendations on tariff and fee updates, berthing priorities, and schedule changes.
- • Advise finance and commercial teams on harbor fees, pilotage or berthing charges, and customer billing.
- • Analyze expenditures and revenues to improve harbor efficiency, service quality, and financial performance.
- • Confer with engineering, environmental, security, and commercial teams to coordinate harbor projects and tenant operations.
- • Implement specific customer or tenant reporting requirements and customized marine performance metrics.
- • Maintain harbor logs, traffic and incident reports, training records, and safety and security documentation.
- • Review berth applications, manifests, and invoices for conformity with tariffs and port regulations.
- • Plan and implement energy- and emissions-reduction initiatives, such as shore power, speed-reduction, and idle reduction.
- • Evaluate pilots, towage, terminal, and maintenance contractors for safety, environmental, and operational performance.
- • Negotiate with shipping lines, terminal operators, and service providers for berthing windows, services, and preferred terms within policy.
- • Develop and implement plans for pier upgrades, channel dredging, equipment purchases, and space allocation.
- • Direct daily harbor movements, including vessel arrivals, departures, anchorage assignments, and marine quality management.
- • Plan and implement improvements to vessel traffic systems, berth-planning tools, and port community processes.
- • Recommend or authorize capital expenditures for harbor infrastructure, vessels, and equipment.
- • Review sailing schedules, work orders, weather and tide forecasts to plan peak periods and issue work assignments.
- • Recruit, select, and train harbor and supervisory personnel.
Related specializations
Interview options
Interview options
Interviewee gender
Interviewee accent
Interview time
Related Pathways
Supply Chain & Transportation
View
Source
Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
Learn more
Sources & Standards:
This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
