Northern powerhouse maritime agenda gets coast-to-coast boost
Two leading maritime organisations have joined forces to stimulate growth in the marine, ports and energy business in the North.
Team Humber Marine Alliance and Mersey Maritime have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at collaborating and presenting a united front in the Northern Powerhouse initiative.
Mark O’Reilly, CEO and chairman of Team Humber Marine Alliance, said: “This agreement strengthens the offer of Yorkshire and Humber and the North West regions. We are united in our mission to win more business for our members and our combined wealth of skills and capabilities are a force to be reckoned with.
“Both areas have made great strides with the transformational Greenport Hull and Liverpool2 investments and we want to capitalise on these opportunities, enhance the skills base and create sustainable jobs.”
The MoU was signed at the third Mersey Maritime Industry Awards which Mr O'Reilly and Team Humber vice chairman Camilla Carlbom attended.
Team Humber is now finalising plans for its fifth annual Offshore Wind Connections conference and exhibition at Bridlington Spa on May and 4.
Chris Shirling-Rooke, CEO of Mersey Maritime, said: “We are really excited to have signed this agreement with Team Humber. It is an excellent organisation that has done a lot of good work.
“Team Humber has the same vision as Mersey Maritime and by working together, sharing industry knowledge and best practices we hope to significantly increase activity and investment in the maritime industry across the two regions we represent.”
It is expected that the initiative will encourage member companies to enter into joint ventures and be a catalyst for innovation as well as increase access to funding and skills development.
The two organisations have been in talks since they were introduced in 2015 through a UK Northern Powerhouse trade mission visiting offshore wind regions and organisations in the USA. This initiative builds upon a growing relationship between the Humber and Mersey regions across academia, public sector and business.