An emergency in port will usually be handled differently to one at sea. Generally, the ship will be able to access shore-assistance. On the other hand, in port, there are often more people onboard who may be unfamiliar with the ship and its procedures, adding complexity to an emergency.

The Officer of the watch must always know how many people are onboard at any time.

If a fire occurs in port, the local Fire Service will usually take over handling of the emergency. However, the ship must start dealing with the emergency until arrival of Fire Services.

There must always be enough people onboard the ship to form an emergency team. The exact number required is the Masters decision.

The Master must obtain contact details of the local fire service from the agent. These are to be shared with all Officers of the Watch. If there is no local fire service, or if the fire service cannot reach the ship quickly, the Master should ensure sufficient crew are always onboard to handle an emergency.

In an emergency supernumeraries, visitors and shore labour are to be told to go ashore if safe to do so.

Even in an emergency in port, an emergency team is to be mustered. If the emergency is in the Engine Room, the Senior Engineer Officer is to direct operations. The Senior Deck Officer on board is to direct operations to deal with a situation outside the machinery spaces.

Where possible the Bridge is to be used as the main communications control position, and communications must be established with shore authorities. If the Bridge is inaccessible due to the emergency, the communication control position is to be relocated to a safe location.

Any alarms from the fire detection system must be passed to the Emergency Response Team without delay.

The leader of the Emergency Response Team must keep the Bridge informed about the situation and that information is to be passed ashore.

The Engineer OOW on duty is to ensure that water for fire fighting is provided, as well as electrical power as needed.

The Officer in charge of the Emergency Response Team must:
• Inform the Bridge about the emergency situation and available crew.
• Take action to contain the emergency.
• Pass the following information to the Senior Fire Service Officer (when they arrived): -
o Location and type of emergency
o Action taken
o Equipment and manpower available
o Details of stability
o Details of cargo
o Tank disposition
o Number of casualties (if any)
o Details of missing persons 

In most ports, the Senior Fire Service Officer takes control of the emergency operation. However, this is not always the case, and so the Officer in Charge of the Emergency Response Team must:
o Ask if the local Fire Service are taking control
o Tell the Senior Fire Service Officer that they have given them command of the emergency 

The following documents and plans are to be kept on the bridge in a red folder labelled “Emergency Information”:
• Fire plan/ Fire and Safety Plan
• General Arrangement Plan
• Crew List
• Cargo Plan

This folder must be given to the local Fire Service if possible.