Ahead of the 9th Annual Mersey Maritime Industry Awards, Mersey Maritime welcomed senior officials from the Department for Transport (DfT) to the region on Wednesday 01 November 2023. Twelve members of the maritime team in the department were present for a ‘deep dive’ into some of the key themes and sectors that make up this most significant industry within the Liverpool City Region. These were further showcased at the awards event held at Liverpool Cathedral on Thursday 02 November, where some 550 people gathered to celebrate the achievements of the sector over the last year and shine a light on some of the most innovative ‘best in class’ businesses that maritime has to offer in the whole country.
The DfT team’s itinerary saw them visit and tour the Port of Liverpool, the Liverpool Cruise Terminal where they also had the opportunity to board the Fred Olsen Cruise Line vessel Borealis, undertake a roundtable discussion with a range of key Mersey Maritime members and then meet with global shipping and logistics company, Maersk.
Commenting, Ruth Wood, CEO of Mersey Maritime said:
“Maritime is big business in the Liverpool City Region; it makes a contribution of over £5.6 billion to the regional economy and supports over 45,000 jobs. Mersey Maritime has been at the heart of our maritime ecosystem here in Merseyside for over 20 years and one of our key functions is to act as a bridge between industry and government. Our region has some of the most significant and diverse maritime assets in the whole country present within our coastal community. We were delighted to facilitate an opportunity for a range of Department for Transport officials to engage with some of our world class maritime businesses.
Liverpool is the UK’s most significant transatlantic port, the cruise industry here in the city has gone from strength to strength in recent years despite the challenges that Covid-19 presented and our wider network of member businesses each make a major contribution to all that maritime offers here in this place. As the organisation that brings the industry together in this region, this was a significant opportunity for us to put our words into action and offer members the chance to engage with some of the most senior members of the Department for Transport team.”
Commenting, Phil Hall, Port Director – Mersey, Port of Liverpool said:
“We’re delighted to have hosted senior officials from the Department for Transport at the Port of Liverpool last week for a tour and roundtable discussion. We always welcome the opportunity to showcase the diverse range of commodities and trade lanes we handle in Liverpool, as well as to demonstrate how the Port enables economic growth in the region through investment and jobs – be that at the Port itself or in our wider supply chain – and the progress we are making on our commitment to being a net zero port operator by 2040.”
Commenting, John Mawer, Head of Cruise Liverpool said:
“We’re delighted to have hosted Mersey Maritime and officials from the Department for Transport at the Cruise Terminal last week for a brief tour of the cruise ship “Borealis” and a spirited roundtable discussion. We were delighted by the level of interest and engagement in the regional cruise sector, as well as being thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase all of the positive benefits of cruise tourism for the region, such as: economic impact; job creation and sustainable plans for growth. This was another example of important collaboration, supported by Mersey Maritime to bring industry experts and policy makers together with common purpose.”
