Mersey Maritime News

The event, organised by the industry’s regional cluster organisation, and hosted by CEO, Ruth Wood, in collaboration with Peel Ports Group and Connected Places Catapult, was hosted in the iconic location of the Liverpool City Region’s Combined Authority at Mann Island. Maritime Minister, Mike Kane MP, gave the keynote address, his first major speech in his new role at the Department for Transport, and panellist contributions were received from Stephen Carr, Chief Commercial Officer...

Mersey Maritime, in collaboration with WISTA UK, successfully marked the first regional event for WISTA UK in 2024 with the conclusion of their ‘Diversity in Maritime’ networking evening held on 15th February 2024, at HMS Eaglet in Liverpool. Event features and contributions The gathering brought together industry leaders and professionals for a networking and knowledge-sharing session. As part of its 50th-anniversary celebrations, WISTA UK will continue to host various regional...

Plans to build a world class maritime centre of excellence, focused on innovation, engineering, R&D, entrepreneurship, and training at the heart of Peel L&P’s Wirral Waters, have been put on hold as Wirral Council says no viable plans to fund it have been brought forward. A report has asked Councillors at a Policy and Resources committee meeting on January 17 to remove the project from its regeneration programme ‘until such time as a viable scheme is brought forward for cons...

Maritime UK, the overarching organisation representing the maritime sector, is celebrating National Apprenticeship Week and urging the industry to leverage apprenticeships to create a competitive and sustainable maritime sector. National Apprenticeship Week provides a platform for the education and skills sector to honour the accomplishments of apprentices nationwide, acknowledging the positive influence they have on communities, businesses, and the broader economy.  Complexities of the s...

Mayor Steve Rotheram has announced appointments to a new Business and Enterprise Board for the Liverpool City Region. The new board has taken over the role of the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in providing a voice for business in the area. Business leaders from across the city region and its key growth sectors have been named on the new board including Interim CEO of Mersey Maritime, Ruth Wood. New Business and Enterprise Board appointed In appointing the Board, the Combined Authority ha...

An existing close partner of Mersey Maritime, Nautilus International represents 20,000 maritime professionals in its capacity as a global trade union. They include ship masters, officers, cadets, ship pilots, harbourmasters, seafarers of all kinds, and shore-based workers. Employment opportunities As one of the industry cluster organisations in the maritime sector, recognised both nationally and internationally, Mersey Maritime represents hundreds of businesses of all sizes across 30-plus s...

Technological innovation driven by a skilled workforce that is ‘fit for the future’ is critical to the future growth of the UK’s £116 billion maritime sector. That was the overall message delivered by speakers at the fifth annual Mersey Maritime Exchange conference in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Organised by Mersey Maritime, the event brought together industry and Government leaders in the industry. Mersey Maritime Exchange 2023 The Exchange used the Government’s...

Both the UK military and the £116bn maritime industry face the same tough challenges when it comes to recruiting the right people with the right skills for the next few decades. That was the clear message that came from the afternoon session of the fifth Maritime Exchange conference held in Liverpool. Organised by Mersey Maritime, the event brought together UK maritime leaders at the Tung Auditorium at the University of Liverpool. Decarbonisation and digitisation Two-panel sessions in t...

Maritime UK National Chair, Robin Mortimer, and UK Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Harper MP, opened the inaugural meeting of the Maritime Council. The Department for Transport (DfT) set up the Maritime Council in May 2023 to oversee the delivery of recommendations outlined in the Maritime 2050 strategy, which was launched more than four years ago. The Maritime Council The Maritime Council will bring government departments face-to-face with industry stakeholders The Maritime Council w...

Mersey Maritime has announced changes to its senior leadership, with Maritime UK, the umbrella organisation for the UK’s maritime sector, appointing Chris Shirling-Rooke MBE as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Chris Shirling-Rooke will move over from Mersey Maritime to Maritime UK in the early summer and Maritime UK thanks Mersey Maritime for helping to facilitate a seamless transfer. Maritime UK appoints new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chris is currently serving as the CEO of M...

Maritime UK, the umbrella organisation for the UK’s maritime sector, has appointed Chris Shirling-Rooke MBE as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He will move over from Mersey Maritime to Maritime UK in the early summer and Maritime UK thanks Mersey Maritime for helping to facilitate a seamless transfer. Chris Shirling-Rooke is currently CEO of Mersey Maritime, a maritime regional cluster organisation based in the Liverpool City Region. In this role, he has championed the importance o...

Mersey Maritime has welcomed the news that plans to build a world-class maritime centre of excellence, focused on innovation, engineering, R&D, entrepreneurship and training at the heart of Peel L&P’s Wirral Waters, have been approved by Wirral Council. This significant step in the project journey follows the championing of the project by the region’s cluster organisation over a number of years, including promotion of it to senior members of the government. The announcement...

Stanlow Terminals Ltd has announced that they are to develop a major new open access import terminal for green ammonia in the Port of Liverpool. The new terminal, which will be an expansion of Stanlow Terminal’s existing facilities, will provide the connecting infrastructure to enable significant volumes of green ammonia to be imported into the United Kingdom (UK).  New terminal The new terminal contributes to Essar’s ambition to be a major hub of low carbon energy innovation...

The Liverpool City Region’s maritime industry played host to a senior member of the ministerial team in the Department for Transport, Baroness Vere, during a visit to the area on Friday, 27 January 2023. Mersey Maritime welcomed the Minister to their Maritime Knowledge Hub in Birkenhead where she was briefed on their leading role in the rollout of a national initiative, the Regional Cluster Development Programme, which is focused on growing the industry around the coastal communities of t...

Maritime UK, the umbrella organisation for the UK’s maritime sector, has appointed Robin Mortimer as its new Chair and Tom Boardley as Vice Chair. Robin Mortimer was nominated by the British Ports Association and UK Major Ports Group, while Tom Boardley was nominated by the UK Chamber of Shipping. New Chair and Vice Chair appointed Maritime UK will be working closely with the UK government on its refresh to the Clean Maritime Plan Currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)...

A first Annual Report focused on the delivery of a joint project to support regional growth within the maritime sector has been launched at the latest meeting of the Maritime UK National Council chaired by its Patron, Her Royal Highness - The Princess Royal. The meeting took place at Watermen’s Hall, in London, United Kingdom (UK), on Wednesday, 07 December 2022. Regional Growth is one of the five identified priority themes of Maritime UK, which in turn correspond to key ambitions set out...

In Mersey Maritime’s 20th anniversary year, the North West and national maritime industry came together on Thursday, 10th November 2022 to celebrate the sector at the 8th Annual Mersey Maritime Industry Awards. The event, which was held at Liverpool Cathedral, was the biggest and most high-profile yet, with some 600 guests present drawn from across the UK and beyond. Preparations for the awards saw over 100 individual applications on behalf of more than 50 different businesses and organ...

Maritime UK, the umbrella body for the maritime industries, is announcing the appointment of colleagues from across the sector to its Diversity in Maritime Taskforce following the success of Maritime UK Week 2022 (10-16 October). The task force, which oversees the Diversity in Maritime programme, was launched in May 2020, in response to the government’s flagship Maritime 2050 strategy. The programme is focused on ensuring that the future maritime workforce across the shipping, ports, se...

Mersey Maritime was conceived almost twenty years ago to create an ecosystem, championing and supporting one of the most diverse maritime regions in the UK. Created as a not-for-profit organisation with more than 200 active members, Mersey Maritime spans more than 33 sub-sectors of maritime and its related supply chain, including ports, shipping, offshore, engineering, professional services, logistics, manufacturing, and academia. Mersey Maritime Chris Shirling Rooke, the Chief Executive Offi...

Peel L&P has formally submitted a planning application to Wirral Council to build a £25 million world class maritime centre of excellence, focused on innovation, engineering, R&D (research & development), entrepreneurship and training, within the heart of Wirral Waters. The proposed Maritime Knowledge Hub will be an architectural landmark, providing a high-level industrial and maritime facility, supporting the region’s £5 billion maritime ecosystem, where research...

The Mersey Maritime Exchange will take place on Thursday 23rd June 2022, both online and in the magnificent surroundings of Liverpool Town Hall, a Grade-I-listed building in the heart of the city. The conference is being organised by Mersey Maritime in partnership with Maritime UK and will discuss the progress of the UK Government’s Maritime 2050 report, which sets out the future of the sector over the next three decades. Key industry representatives The conference comes three-and-a-hal...

Industry body Mersey Maritime is stepping up its role as a voice in the £46bn UK maritime sector with a key appointment. Emma Wilson, who spent four years at Port of Liverpool owner Peel Ports, has joined the Birkenhead-based membership and representative organisation as a Senior Marketing and Events Executive. She joined Peel Ports, one of the UK’s biggest port operators, as a Digital Marketing Apprentice and just three years later was promoted to a Marketing Executive role. During...

Cleaner and greener channel crossings are expected in the next decade, as the London International Shipping Week 2021 (LISW 2021) launches, announced the Department for Transport’s, Robert Courts MP, and The Rt. Hon Grant Shapps MP. Highlights include: UK to push for international shipping emissions to reach absolute zero by 2050, Transport Secretary sets out ambitious global 2050 target, as the UK government launches greenest ever International Shipping Week, and Vision of...

Industry body Mersey Maritime’s third annual Maritime Exchange conference will be a hybrid event, taking place on Friday, June 25, both online and in the magnificent surroundings of a Grade-II-listed former Victorian hydraulic tower in Wirral’s docklands. Maritime 2050: Where are we now? is being organised by Mersey Maritime in partnership with the Department for Transport and Maritime UK and will discuss the progress of the UK’s Government’s Maritime 2050 report, which...