Second gathering of maritime regions held in Plymouth
Maritime UK’s Regional Council held its second meeting in Plymouth on Tuesday (19th June).
The South Coast Marine Cluster hosted the gathering and shared
its priorities for growing the £5bn contribution made by the maritime sector to
the region’s economy.
These growth areas cover autonomy, advanced manufacturing
and offshore wind.
The Regional Council was held as part of a programme of events
around the Marine Tech Expo, at
which Maritime UK’s John Murray will address delegates.
Each of the regions provided an update on their work and
provided suggested areas for collaboration.
Representatives from all corners of the UK including the
Solent, Cornwall, East of England, the Humber, Merseyside and Scotland gathered
at the recently constructed Oceansgate, Marine Technology Enterprise Zone in
Plymouth, itself created by regional collaboration through the Plymouth and
South West City Deal.
Maritime UK’s Regional Council has been established to bring
together regional maritime cluster organisations from across Britain.
The Regional Council is enabling clusters to engage with and
influence the Maritime Sector Deal, an industry-government deal being negotiated
as part of the government’s industrial strategy.
Chris Shirling-Rooke, Chairman of the Maritime UK Regional
Council, and CEO of Mersey Maritime, said:
“The Maritime UK Regional Council creates an opportunity for
each region to influence the national agenda, adding local strengths to the
national mix. It has been great to get a better understanding of the scale of
opportunity that exists to unlock economic growth on the South Coast.”
Anthony Payne, Chair of the South Coast Marine Cluster added:
“By bringing clusters together through the Regional Council
we are starting to combine regional specialisms into national programmes to
drive excellence. It’s true that we can achieve more together than we do alone,
so I’m incredibly excited about what the UK’s clusters can do together with the
rest of Maritime UK.”
The meeting in Plymouth focused on how the UK’s maritime
economy can be developed; identifying regional priorities to feed into the
Maritime Sector Deal and how regional clusters can engage with national
programmes, including the Women in Maritime
initiative.
At the meeting, clusters agreed to host the annual ‘Maritime
UK Industry Awards’ on a rotational basis.
The Regional Council will next meet in Southampton during Maritime UK Week (10th-16th September)