Ports, marine & shipping

Port, marine and shipping pest control

Nightshift has over twenty years of experience providing pest preventative services to international airports and the marine industry, working shipping yards and ports across the UK.

Arrange a survey Report a problem

Marine work is defined by movement. Cargo, containers and vessels arrive from everywhere carrying whatever travelled with them, and the site itself is a permanently open perimeter against water.

How we work this environment

To the berth window and the shift pattern, including nights. Because our technicians work nights as standard, the hours a port actually operates are our normal working pattern.

The risk profile

What makes this environment different.

Cargo carries the introduction

Containers, timber packaging and bulk goods bring stored product insects and rodents from origin. The pressure is imported continuously rather than generated on site.

Vessels are sealed environments

Galleys, stores and crew quarters are confined and continuously occupied, so an infestation aboard escalates fast and cannot simply be left until the next port.

Turnaround windows are unforgiving

A berth window is measured in hours. Work either fits the turnaround or waits for a vessel that may not return for months.

Open perimeters against water

Quaysides, drainage and adjacent water provide permanent rodent access and abundant harbourage that no boundary treatment fully excludes.

Where we look first

The places it actually starts.

Galleys, provision stores and crew messes aboard

Container stacks, bonded stores and transit sheds

Quayside drainage, voids and hard standing

Bulk handling, silos and grain areas

Waste compounds and ships' garbage handling

Terminal catering and office facilities

Compliance & evidence

Our BPCA-qualified technicians are rigorously security cleared and are trained and experienced in carrying out the detailed risk assessments required to work in these environments. Documentation is prepared to support port authority, customer and audit requirements, with written reports issued the same day.

Certificates published, not promised

BPCA member M15/1628, CEPA certified to EN 16636, CHAS, SafeContractor and Constructionline, with numbers and expiry dates on our procurement page.

Common questions

Ports, marine & shipping, answered.

The questions facilities and operations teams raise most, answered plainly.

Anything else?

Report a problem any hour and we will come back to you.

Report a problem

Can you attend a vessel during turnaround?

Yes, subject to access and permit arrangements. Planning the visit against the berth window is the critical part, and we schedule to it rather than to office hours.

Do your technicians hold the necessary clearance?

BPCA-qualified technicians are rigorously security cleared and DBS checked before deployment, with experience across ports, shipping yards and airside environments.

Can you support cargo and warehousing alongside vessels?

Yes. Transit sheds, bonded stores and distribution facilities are treated as part of the same programme, which is usually where the imported pressure actually settles.