Pilotage Exemption Certificates (PECs) may be granted to the bona fide Deck Officers of vessels that regularly trade to Milford Haven and can demonstrate a competence equivalent to that of a pilot.

PEC applications need to be made via an appropriate agent.

View Pilotage Exemption Certificate Requirements

A Marine Works Licence is required if you plan to construct, alter or extend any works on, under or over tidal waters within the Haven.
For further information please email: mwl@mhpa.co.uk

Download the Marine Works Licence Application Pack

View Marine Works Licence charges

Our port charges can be found in our Resource Library here.

You can find all the information needed to safely bring in your vessel here.

As set out in Section 18 of the Milford Haven Conservancy Act 1983, a Marine Works Licence (MWL) from Milford Haven Port Authority (MHPA) is required if you wish to construct, alter or extend any works on, under or over tidal waters within the Port Limits of the Port of Milford Haven. This includes slipways, cables, paving, stone-surfacing, jetties, quaysides, concreting works, deployment of fixed structures such as pontoons etc.

Because the MWL process is designed to ensure navigational safety and environmental compliance, the requirement for a MWL for any given works is at the discretion of MHPA, so if there is any doubt, you are advised to consult MHPA in advance of deployment.  Maintenance typically does not require a MWL unless the footprint of the original structure is exceeded, or some new element of navigational risk is introduced resulting from the works. Moorings are typically dealt with under the Mooring Licence scheme rather than by MWL.

As set out in Section 19 of the Milford Haven Conservancy Act 1983, a Dredging Licence from MHPA is required if you wish to deepen, dredge, scour, or improve the bed and foreshore, or to blast any rock anywhere within the Port Limits of the Port of Milford Haven.  If the proposed works include components other than dredging, then application should be made for a MWL which will incorporate the proposed dredging works.

Applicants should be aware that the MWL scheme is a requirement of MHPA, and does not duplicate, replace, or obviate any other licence or consent that the proposed works may require, e.g. planning consent from the local planning authority, or a Marine Licence from Natural Resources Wales.

The MWL Application Pack can be accessed at https://www.mhpa.co.uk/port-charges/. The application should be accompanied by an application fee, details of which can be found in the same location. The completed application pack can be submitted by post to Milford Haven Port Authority marked ‘FAO Marine Works Licensing Team’ or submitted electronically to mwl@mhpa.co.uk.  Once the application is received by MHPA and the application fee paid, the MWL Team will confirm receipt to the applicant and the determination process will commence.

You need to provide sufficient information for the MWL Team to understand the scope and scale of the works, the essentials of their design, and the environmental and navigational impacts of the works. As a minimum, this will include location, maximum spatial extent, and timing of the works with a brief description of the works proposed and a risk-assessed method statement. Where plans, charts or drawings exist, it is advisable to attach these to the application.

For more complex applications, an Environmental Impact Statement, shadow Habitats Regulations Assessment and/or Navigational Risk Assessment may have been undertaken – these, where extant, should be submitted with the application. Typically, projects of this scale will require these documents to inform other consents in any case. Early pre-application engagement with the MWL Team is advised to ensure that these studies are scoped correctly.  If, after review of the submitted application, the MWL Team requires further information to inform its decision, this will be requested from the applicant; this may cause the determination period to be extended.

A MWL is subject to an application fee, on a scale determined by the monetary value of the works.  Application fees are updated on 1^st January every year and are published here: MWL Application Fees.

A MWL is then further subject to an annual fee for the lifetime of the project (construction, operation and potentially decommissioning). This is determined by the physical scope and scale of the project.  Licence fees are updated on 1^st January every year and fall payable on or about 25^th March unless otherwise agreed.  They are published here: MWL New Works Annual Fees.

Once a completed MWL application pack is received is received, checks are made that the correct application fee has been paid.  Once this is confirmed, the application is assigned a number and passed to the Marine Works Licensing Team (MWLT) for determination – the applicant will be advised when this has taken place.  The members of the MWLT will then assess the sufficiency of the information provided, seeking clarification or supplementary evidence if necessary. The MWLT will assess the application in the context of MHPA’s statutory duties as a Harbour Authority, principally:

• Navigational safety
• Conservancy
• Impacts on other legitimate uses of the Waterway
• Environmental impacts
• Requirement as a Competent Authority (Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended))

The MWLT will then consider any conditions that are required to resolve any outstanding issues, and if these can be so resolved, the licence will be granted, and the applicant will receive a formal licence.  If there are outstanding problems which cannot be resolved by appropriate conditions, the MWLT will liaise with the applicant to try to resolve them by other means. If they cannot be resolved the MWLT cannot grant the MWL.

MHPA does not hold a formal consultation on all MWL applications. Depending on the nature of the application, however, MHPA may choose to consult with relevant statutory and non-statutory stakeholders such as Natural Resources Wales, Pembrokeshire County Council, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, Trinity House, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, representatives of local fishing associations, yacht clubs etc.

No. MHPA is not required to hold a public consultation on matters relating to the exercise of its statutory duty.

Typically, a MWL will need to be considered for six weeks.

Although a MWL represents MHPA’s consent for works to take place, it may be necessary to submit further information to discharge conditions on the MWL. In addition, further consents or permissions from other organisations may be required; although MHPA can provide advice, it is the responsibility of the applicant to identify and secure any such consents. The most common additional consents that may be required are:

• Marine licence (Natural Resources Wales)
• Planning consent (Local Planning Authority)
• Crown Estate licence

A Marine Licence is a consent which may be sought from Natural Resources Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government.  It represents a statutory consent under the terms of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 and is applicable to all Welsh Waters.  It is principally concerned with environmental protection and coastal rights of way.  Different bands of ML may be applied for dependent on the scale of the proposed plan or project, and certain activities are exempted from the requirement for a ML, e.g. pollution response activities or shellfish aquaculture.

A Marine Works Licence is a consent which may be sought from Milford Haven Port Authority.  It represents a statutory consent under the terms of the Milford Haven Conservancy Act 1983 and is applicable to the jurisdiction of MHPA.  It is concerned with navigational safety, conservancy and environmental protection.  No exemptions are specified in law, and the requirement for a MWL is at the discretion of MHPA based on potential for adverse impact and whether MHPA requires to set any conditions.

Obtaining one of these two licences does not necessarily preclude the necessity of obtaining the other.

Non-native species will not normally be licensed for aquaculture by MHPA unless the applicant can demonstrate that the proposals will satisfy the requirements of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended).  Special considerations will need to be made in respect of navigational safety depending on the type of aquaculture and any infrastructure required e.g., seabed, mid-water or surface.  This would also be the case for location within Port Limits.