Governance and management quality

Functions and way in which governance and management bodies are elected (I_02)

Chairperson

Their duties and means of election are as envisaged in Article 31 of the Consolidated Text of the Ports of the State and Merchant Navy Act. The Chair of the Port Authority is appointed and removed by the competent body of the Autonomous Community, in our case the Regional Government of Andalusia (“Junta de Andalucía) at the behest of the person in charge of the competent Department, from persons of acknowledged professional competence and suitability. Following the notification of appointments or removals to the Ministry of Economic Promotion, they are published in the Official Journal concerned and also in the Official State Journal.

Pursuant to Decree 384/2019, of 19 February, the Cabinet of the Autonomous Government Andalusia appointed  María del Pilar Miranda Plata as Chair of the Huelva Port Authority, an appointment that met with the disclosure requirement, pursuant to Article 31.1 del Consolidated Text of the State Ports and Merchant Navy Act, and was published by means of Order FOM/259/2019, of 25 February, in Spanish Official Gazette No. 58, of 8 March 20.

He/she is responsible for ensuring compliance with the obligations the law attributes to Port Authorities vis-à-vis State Ports, particularly in relation to any provisions and documentation the approval of or reports on which correspond to the latter, and to supply it with all information of interest to the state system of ports.

Managing Director

Its duties as a management body and means of election are as envisaged in Article 33 of the Consolidated Text of the Ports of the State and Merchant Navy Act.

The Managing Director is appointed and removed by an absolute majority of the Board of Directors following a proposal by the Chairperson, from among persons with higher qualifications, acknowledged professional prestige and experience of at least five years in port management and techniques.

Board of Directors

Its members are as elected as set out in Article 30.3 of the Consolidated Text of the Ports of the State and Merchant Navy Act.

Members are appointed by the person in charge of the Department responsible for ports in the Regional Government, following a proposal by the Public Administrations and Bodies represented on the Board of Directors. In the case of the General State Administration, the proposal is tabled by the Chair of the public body State Ports.

Members of the Board of Directors are appointed for four years, and directorships may be renewed. Removal of members will be agreed by the competent body in the Autonomous Community, following a proposal by the organisations, bodies and entities they represent.

The duties of the Board of Directors are those established in Article 30.5 of the Consolidated Text of the Ports of the State and Merchant Navy Act.

Structure of the Board of Directors (I_03)

Following the remodelling of the structure of the Board of Directors by Law 33/2010 of 5 August, the Autonomous Community of Andalusia enacted Decree 2/2011 of 11 January for the appointment of persons to the governance bodies of the Port Authorities of general-interest ports located in Andalusia, in compliance with the attributions established in this regard by law, and this was published in the Regional Government’s Official Journal on 25 January 2011.

The Board of Directors of the Huelva Port Authority was incorporated at a meeting on 5 April 2011 in the new format conferred by the remodelling of its structure, which entailed a considerable reduction in the number of its members, with respect to the previous structure, although the same representational format in accordance with the distribution of members hitherto was maintained. This means that the various state, autonomous government and local Public Administrations are still represented, as are major port, economic, trade union and business sectors.

Composition

The composition of the Board of Directors is as follows:

• The Chairperson is the Chairman/Chairwoman of the Port Authority.
• One ex officio member, the Harbour Master.
• 15 members:
  • 4 members. General State Administration (including the Harbour Master).
  • 5 members. Autonomous Community (including the President’s Office).
  • 4 members. Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Shipping, business and trade union organisations and relevant economic sectors on the port circuit.
  • 1 member. Huelva Town Hall.
  • 1 member. Palos de la Frontera Town Hall.

The Managing Director and the Secretary also form part of the Board, although they may speak but not vote.

The composition of the Board at 31 December 2019 was as follows:

Management and backup systems (I_04)

In 2019, Huelva Port Authority performed the necessary work for the integration of its quality management system as per the ISO 9001 standard and its environmental management system as per the ISO 14001 standard. The scope of the Quality Management system was therefore expanded. It went from being "Management of the operations of the hazard freight and solid bulk traffic by the Port of Huelva" to "General Service, as defined in the regulatory framework of the State Port System and management of the Port Public Domain". That was already the scope of the Port of Huelva Environmental Management System that was duly certified.

The Strategy, Innovation and Environment Department designed the Innovation Management System. However, it will gradually be implemented beginning with learning about the techniques to foster creative intelligence and thought and some dissemination and awareness measures among the staff of the organisation.

With respect to the Occupational Hazards Management System, the Huelva Port Authority has outsourced a prevention service to cover the following preventive disciplines or specialities: safety in the work place, industrial hygiene, ergonomics and applied psychosociology and occupational medicine, including medical healthcare supervision.

Management Commitee (I_05)

The Management Committee is conceived as an instrument to guarantee the effectiveness of governance and proper management of the ordinary business of the Port Authority, particularly concerning important issues or issues entailing coordinated interdepartmental administration.

It also undertakes a periodic review of the progress made and the proposals arising during implementation of the port planning objectives established, reaching agreements to conduct adaptations or reviews of any aspects it deems appropriate for the purposes of achieving the intended objectives.

The Management Committee is made up of the Chair and the Director, the heads of the Financial-Economic, Infrastructure and General Secretariat areas; along with the  Operations, Strategy, Innovation and Environment, Human Resources and Industrial Relations, Port Public Domain, Business Development, Commercial, Technology and IT Systems departments, and Chair's Office.. The Management Committee usually meets fortnightly.

Another larger forum was also consolidated as of 2016, known as the Extended Management Committee, which meets every six months to conduct a broader assessment of management of the Entity. In addition to members of the Management Committee and the Chair, meetings are also attended by the other directors of the Port Authority.

Sectoral technical committees acting as backup to the Board of Directors (I_06)

Pursuant to the provisions of the new Rules of Composition and Functioning approved by the Huelva Port Authority’s Board of Directors at a meeting on 31 May 2012 (Huelva Province Official Journal Nº 123 of 27 June 2012) and following completion of the processes to appoint its Members, since this date the Huelva Port Authority’s Navigation and Port Council has been carrying out functions as the advisory body to the Office of the Port Authority Chairperson and of the Harbour Master, almost all of which were interrupted in the year 2000, when only one of its committees remained in place, the Navigation Committee, which undertook the functions of the Port Services Committee.

The Port Authority’s Navigation and Port Council met for the first time following the remodelling of its structure on 7 November 2012, and a proposal was tabled at this first meeting to create the Port Services Committee referred to in Article 124 of the Recast Law on State Ports and the Merchant Navy, which henceforth undertook the functions attributed in law concerning the conditions for the provision of port services. In 2019, the Navigation and Port Board met on 3 December and the Port Services Committee on 4 December.