The COMET Port Tour 2025 is officially underway. Last Tuesday, we had the pleasure of starting our journey at Port of Peterhead, where the team welcomed us with warmth, openness, and a spirit of collaboration. It was a fantastic visit, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to work with such a forward-thinking port community.

Mark Ruston, COMET CEO and Paul Finnie, HSE Manager Peterhead Port
"I was delighted to kick off our COMET Port Tour at Peterhead Port last Tuesday. We got some fantastic insights from HSE Manager Paul Finnie, Port CEO Graeme Reid, and Harbour Master Euan Rattray as they manage the Port of today and plan for the Port of tomorrow." - Mark Rushton, CEO

About Port of Peterhead

Peterhead is the UK’s largest white-fish port and one of the most important pelagic fish landing centres in Europe. The trust-run port offers more than 3 km of quayside with water depths of up to 14 metres, allowing it to handle significant commercial traffic, from fishing vessels to offshore support and cargo ships. Operating 24/7, the port is a key hub not only for fisheries but also for offshore energy, subsea operations, bulk cargo, ship repair and leisure. Its modern fish market and supporting infrastructure continue a 400-year heritage of maritime trade.

Over the next few months, COMET will be visiting ports across the UK to shine a light on safety leadership, uncover learning opportunities, and share best practice. The tour is designed to celebrate the people, processes, and innovations that keep our ports safe, while also tackling repeat failures and sharing insights that can help the whole sector improve.

‍What we’ll do at each port

At every stop on the tour, the COMET team will:

  • Tour the facility and highlight the safety leaders who host us.
  • Demo the world’s best RCA system and methodology, showing how structured analysis can transform incident learning.
  • Spotlight resilience, capturing standout examples of what’s working well.
  • Analyse a priority repeat failure with the host team to uncover the real causes.
  • Deliver an insights report and root cause masterclass to every contributor.
  • Offer preferential licensing rates for those who want to adopt COMET.

What we’ll deliver together

Beyond individual site visits, this tour will also createsomething bigger

  • A UK-wide report capturing both qualitative and quantitative findings from across the ports sector.
  • Anonymised insights, so each location benefits from shared learning without losing confidentiality.
  • Ongoing collaboration with Port Skills and Safety (PSS) and Airports UK, ensuring the lessons reach the wider industry.
  • Covering both maritime and airport operations, the tour aims to connect two high-risk environments that share common challenges and opportunities for improvement.

A free initiative for the sector

The Port Tour will be delivered at no cost to participants. Our team will be documenting the journey as they go and every stop will be shared across our social media channels, always tagging and involving the ports that welcome us.

Why we’re doing this

Ports are complex, high-risk environments. The work is vital, the pressure is constant, and the consequences of failure can be severe. At COMET, we believe that sharing lessons across the sector is the fastest way to reduce incidents, build resilience, and strengthen safety culture.

This tour is a great opportunity to create a collective snapshot of where we stand, where the challenges lie, and where ports across the UK are leading the way.

Follow our journey on social media as we travel the country or get in touch if you’d like your port to be part of the tour.