DARTMOUTH harbour master Rob Giles has quit.
His resignation was officially announcement by the Dart harbour board on Monday.
In a statement, it said: ‘After five and a half years in post, Rob Giles has resigned from the position of Dart Harbour Authority chief executive officer and harbour master.
‘Deputy harbour master Nick Clarance will now head up the Dart Harbour team until a replacement harbour master is recruited.’
Captain Giles declined to further on his decision to go from immediate effect.
His departure follows months of unrest at the authority which came to a head in April when some boat owners said they had lost confidence in Cpt Giles and wanted to see radical changes to the way the river is run.
A petition was set up calling for a change of harbour leadership, especially in the wake of the capsized French trawler Saint Christophe 1 in March, which is still the subject to an investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
Dartmouth Town Council, too, called for answers as to how the trawler incident was handled after some councilors felt it had been hugely damaging for the town.
Teddy Cranmer, spokesman for the Dart Action Revival Team, made up of leisure boat owners and berth holders, said this week he welcomed news of Cpt Giles’ resignation.
But people still wanted to see further changes in the management of the river, he said.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting of Dartmouth Town Council, Mr Cranmer said: ‘As the result of the recent catastrophic trawler capsize and other matters, many river stakeholders and townspeople are dissatisfied with the current performance of the Dart harbour board and have lost confidence in the management of the river.
‘On behalf of 122 written complainants, I would like to ask the town council to note our concerns and to take whatever steps it deems necessary to help improve the situation.
‘This recent capsize reflects badly on the town and the port as a safe haven.’
Mr Cranmer said the action team had catalogued almost 40 concerns regarding DHNA activities over the past five years.
‘It appears our concerns and comments over the management of the river are having some effect,’ he said afterwards.
‘We look forward to further developments in the near future.’
Cllr Richard Rendle urged the harbour board to separate the practical role of harbour master from that of chief executive officer.
And Cllr Les Barnes said it was essential the harbour master lived in the town and the town didn’t have the same situation as at present where he had a 40-minute drive to get to emergencies on the river.