Queen's Harbourmaster

In the United Kingdom, a Queen's (or King's) Harbour Master is a public official with the duty of keeping the port secure for both military and civilian shipping.

There are three Queen's Harbour Masters in the UK, one for each of the major naval ports of the UK: the Clyde Dockyard Port of Gareloch and Loch Long in the Firth of Clyde, the Dockyard Port of Portsmouth in Portsmouth, and the Dockyard Port of Plymouth in Plymouth.

The powers of the Queen's Harbour Masters are defined in the Dockyard Ports Regulation Act 1865. Although legislation does not require it, most QHMs have been serving officers in the Royal Navy.

The Queen's Harbour Masters have their own flag, consisting of a white-bordered Union Flag with a white circle on it, within which there is a crown and the letters "QHM".

Queen's Harbour Masters were first appointed in the first half of the nineteenth century; there was some overlap with the duties of Master Attendants in HM Dockyards, and the two offices were held by the same person in several instances.

Equivalent positions also exist in Canada, where a Queen's Harbourmaster is known in French as capitaine de port de Sa Majesté (literally "Her Majesty's Captain of the Port").

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