Air and sea port health

We enforce infectious disease controls at

• Leith Docks
• Edinburgh airport
• Hound Point oil tanker terminal
• Hawes pier, South Queensferry.

Sea

Every ship which travels outside the UK must have a current ship sanitation certificate. There are control or exemption certificates, depending on the conditions found on the ship, and each lasts for six months.

We can also visit ships and take water samples for microbiological, chemical or legionella testing for a reasonable charge. 

• Email Scientific Services to arrange sampling
• Email Pest Control for treatments on visiting ships including mice, rats or cockroaches.

Shipping agents should contact us if a ship needs a new sanitation certificate, an extension, to arrange water sampling, or if you need advice. The charges from 1 April 2022 for this are listed in the table below.

Vessels which can carry between 50 and 1,000 persons cost £480 and vessels which can carry more than 1,000 people cost £820. Extra charges may be made for water sampling, and any extra costs we may incur. Existing certificates may be extended for £95.  Please try where possible to give us two days notice.

If there is any infectious disease on a ship, the ship's owners or agent must tell us before it arrives. We work with NHS Lothian to investigate the outbreak. A common disease is norovirus, but there are many others.

Air

At the airport the crew should call ahead to let us know there are sick passengers on a flight due to land in Edinburgh.  We can then take action such as visiting the aircraft with a medic to assess ill passengers. We can have them isolated or taken to hospital if needed. We may need to have the aircraft cleaned and disinfected before it can leave, and sometimes we need to get the details of other passengers on the flight in case they become ill.