The crucial importance of the maritime industry to the Liverpool City Region was the focus of a full day tour for the Shadow Maritime Minister, Mike Kane MP, when he visited the area on Thursday 15th February 2024.
Hosted by Mersey Maritime, alongside some of its key partners, he was given a detailed update by the regional cluster organisation for the industry in the North West before embarking on a visit to Cammell Laird and the Port of Liverpool in the afternoon. During lunch, Mr Kane also visited Nautilus International’s Mariners’ Park facilities in Wallasey to see progress on their award-winning project to deliver a combined complex of additional seafarer retirement apartments and a new head office.
Greener maritime offer
Reflecting on his visit, Mike Kane MP said: “It was fantastic to be back in the Liverpool City Region for an update from Mersey Maritime and to see first hand the exceptional work being delivered by key businesses such as Cammell Laird and the Port of Liverpool. Both are key drivers of the maritime industry in the region, investing in infrastructure and people to deliver excellence for the sector which makes such a substantial contribution to the local economy.”
Retaining talent amongst young people to work in maritime is a big focus for both organisations"
“Retaining talent amongst young people to work in maritime is a big focus for both organisations and it was fantastic to hear of the longstanding commitment to apprenticeships at the shipyard as well as how the port is delivering investment to help it transition to a cleaner, greener maritime offer.”
“A future Labour government is committed to seeing economic investment into coastal communities and these areas thrive. That’s the focus of organisations like Mersey Maritime and their member businesses too and I look forward to future collaborations in the months and years to come.”
Maritime policy priorities
Commenting, Chief Executive of Mersey Maritime, Ruth Wood, said: “We value very much the relationship we have developed over recent years with Mike Kane in his shadow ministerial role. With maritime in the Liverpool City Region being worth over £5 billion to the economy and supporting such significant numbers of jobs, we are passionate to tell this story to parliamentarians across the political spectrum.”
“Mersey Maritime has undergone much internal change in recent months, so it was good to bring Mike up to speed on our focus going forward: decarbonisation projects, skills and innovation – the themes that are at the forefront of many maritime policy priorities just now. And what better way to demonstrate these themes in action with the opportunity for two of our key members to bring him up to speed on their work too.”
Highly skilled workforce
Cammell Laird has undergone a significant transformation and re-organisation over recent years"
Commenting, Mike Hill, Managing Director of Cammell Laird, said: “We very much welcomed the visit of the Shadow Maritime Minister to Cammell Laird and having the opportunity to showcase ourselves as a key contributor to the regional economy. Cammell Laird has undergone a significant transformation and re-organisation over recent years, investing heavily not only in key infrastructure, but in addition, and most importantly, the continuation and growth to a huge apprentice and graduate training programme.”
“The individuals engaged in it undergo a training programme that has been honed by ourselves and tailored to provide a highly skilled workforce as we become fit for future. Visits such as these are important to us. It is vital that the capacity and capability of Cammell Laird is widely recognised and understood and the significant opportunity this will bring for our future workforce with maintaining our key partnerships and our ‘stronger together’ initiative.”
Providing sustainable opportunities
Commenting, Phillip Hall, Port Director – Mersey at Peel Ports, said: “We were pleased to welcome the Shadow Maritime Minister, Mike Kane MP to the Port of Liverpool during his recent visit to the Liverpool City Region.”
“The Port is an integral part of the city’s heritage and with its connections to the world, we’re hugely ambitious about leveraging its potential to provide sustainable opportunities that will allow the region to continue to thrive. We were very happy, therefore, to talk to the Shadow Minister about our significant investments at the Port, not only with regards to our leading infrastructure but also in the next generation of the Port’s workforce.”