Responsibilities

Humber Estuary Services Prescribed Limits
Associated British Ports (ABP) is the Statutory and Harbour Authority for the Humber. As Harbour Authority for the Humber Estuary, the ABP Board of Directors delegated the roles of Harbour Authority to ABP Humber Estuary Services (HES).

For a statutory map of the Humber, click here.

The limits of the 'the Humber' as defined in byelaw 4 (1) of the Humber Navigation Byelaws 1990 (Annex 1):

•	so much of the River Ouse as is within the limits of improvement as defined by Section 3 of the Ouse (Lower) Improvement Act 1884;
•	the River Trent below the south side of the stone bridge at Gainsborough;
•	the River Humber and the estuary thereof from the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Trent to the seaward limits bounded by using geographical references based on WGS85 datum:
	• a straight line drawn from Easington Church in the County of East Yorkshire (Latitude 53º 39'.02 North, Longitude 00º 06'.90 East) in a direction 136º (T) until it intersects the line mentioned below; and
	• a straight line from the site of the former Donna Nook beacon (Latitude 53º 28'.40 North, Longitude 00º 09'.23 East in a direction of 029º (T);
•	all navigable havens and creeks of the River Trent below the south side of the stone bridge at Gainsborough and of the River Humber or of the estuary thereof wherein the tide flows and re-flows.

Including, where the context so admits, any land adjoining the Humber but not including any part of the old harbour or haven at Hull (being part of the River Hull and within the jurisdiction of the Kingston Upon Hull City Council as navigation authority), the marina as defined in Section 4 (Interpretation of Part ii) of the Kingston Upon Hull Act 1984 or any enclosed dock; AND, for the purposes of identification only, the limits of 'the Humber' are delineated by red lines on the statutory plan referred to above.

ABP is the Harbour Authority and the Competent Harbour Authority for the Humber and has two main operating port divisions on the Humber, ABP Grimsby & Immingham and ABP Hull & Goole. Each of these has a Port Director who reports to the board of ABP.

The functions of the Harbour Authority have been delegated to HES, which is responsible for the safe operation of the harbour of the Humber and also has the delegated responsibility of the Competent Harbour Authority, responsible for providing pilotage on the Humber.