Quality of service

Information mechanisms implemented by the Port Authority to guarantee transparency in line with the terms and conditions for operators wishing to provide services at the Port or opt for a concession (I_18)

Any operator interested in setting up in the Port of Huelva Service Area is notified by our technical services that they must provide detailed information on each and every one of the terms and conditions required by the applicable legislation. Furthermore, appropriate information is provided through the Huelva Port Authority on the technical characteristics of the Port and its port facilities, rates and tariffs, etc., thus facilitating its dissemination and awareness of its activity.

In the case of public domain occupancies (administrative concession/authorisation), the terms and conditions are set out in the Specifications regulating each administrative title that follow the structure and conditions established in Order FOM 938/2008, of 27 March, approving the General Specifications to grant concessions in the State port public domain. Furthermore, those Specific Specifications are currently in line with Legislative Royal Decree 2/2011, of 5 September, approving the Consolidated Text of the State Ports and Merchant Navy Act.

As regards the provision of services, the aforementioned Act strictly regulates the different types of services to be provided by the Port Authorities, specifying the process to be followed to grant the relevant licence, along with the content of the relevant Specifications regulating the Service. In accordance with the current applicable legislation and which has been quoted above, the mechanisms used by Huelva Port Authority to authorise the provision of the relevant service, or the occupancy of the port public domain that those services require, fully guarantee the transparency of the appropriate knowledge of the terms and conditions to be met to operate at the Port.

Port Authority initiatives to improve the efficiency and quality of the service (I_19)

The Navigation and Port Board of the Huelva Port Authority met on 03 December 2020. During the meeting, the Port Authority Chair and the Harbourmaster reported on key matters in both spheres, including maritime safety or preventing and fighting against pollution as regarding the provision of port services, and both were satisfied with the quality of the services provided.

On the other hand, on 4 December 2020, the Port Services Committee met to discuss the price review for 2021 for the services covering pilotage, towage, vessel mooring and unmooring, and collection of waste from the vessels in the Port of Huelva. It was proposed to put to the Board of Directors that the price for all the services be frozen as they had not received any review proposal. This was ratified by the relevant agreements in the meeting held on 21 December 2020.

Companies benefitting from subsidies to incentivise improvements to the quality of the service (I_20)

With respect to the quality subsidies

As regards to the referential values that act as the basis to apply the subsidies envisaged in Article 245 of RD 2/2011, Point 2 Section b), Atlantic Copper, DECAL España, ALGEOPOSA, CEPSA, Enagás, IMPALA TERMINALS AND BERGÉ Marítima S.L. were audited in 2020. The outcome was satisfactory and the system was found to have been implemented to a rather mature and efficient extent.

APH staff is always present at the Puertos del Estado Quality Referential Values audits.

With respect to good environmental practices

During 2020, 5 agreements were in force regarding good environmental practices, specifically with Atlantic Copper, Decal España, CEPSA, Enagás and IMPALA TERMINALS. Those discounts are granted pursuant to Article 245.1 b) of the Legislative Royal Decree 2/2011, of 5 September, approving Consolidated Text of the Ports and Merchant Navy Act, which establishes that when the holder of a licence to provide the cargo handling port services or the holder of the concession or authorisation of a cargo handling terminal complies with the requirements cited in that article, the discounts to be applied will be 15% in general on the activity rate and 20% on the handling of liquid or solid bulk.

An essential requirement of those Agreements is for a specific audit to be conducted by an accredited entity to verify compliance of environmental requirements and degree of environmental performance of the company which is required to enter into or renew such agreements. Therefore, apart from the aforementioned entity, Huelva Port Authority technicians take part in the audits to ensure appropriate monitoring.

Initiatives to receive or manage complaints or suggestions (I_21)

Complaints and suggestions are received through the Registry and are channelled from the General Secretariat to the different Areas or Departments. They can also be submitted through a specific sector on the website and the Secretary of the Board then channels them to the correct register.

During 2020, 14 complaints and 3 suggestions were received through the General Register. All of them were answered, with actions being taken regarding 8 complaints as 6 did not come under the jurisdiction of the APH and only 1 of the 3 suggestions, as no action could be taken regarding the others.

Huelva Port Authority sets requirements and reviews the operators with discounts in accordance to the Quality Framework and their complaints and suggestions are recorded annually in the framework's compliance audit. In 2020, a Customer Satisfaction Study was conducted again and the plan is to repeat it every two years. The groups considered in the Study were as follows:

The questionnaires are personalised by segments as follows:

The results obtained were satisfactory, as all the overall scores were a B plus, ranging between 7.54 and 8.03, with the exception of two aspects:

• One higher: Friendliness of and treatment by the APH, scoring 8.49
• And one lower, the assessment of the total cost of the operation, which scored 6.83

All the segments scored higher than in the previous study:

• The following were up by more than one point:
  • Masters
  • Institutions
• The following were up more than half a point:
  • Concessionary holders with port services
  • Shipping agents and shipping companies
• Slightly up between 0.1 and 0.3:
  • Service companies
  • Concessionary holders
  • Stevedores

Transport and customs agents were assessed for the first time and scored between 7.75 and 8.