Blog from Ruth Wood, CEO at Mersey Maritime
Reflecting on 2024, this year has showcased the strategic importance of the maritime sector – not just to our region, but nationally and globally. It’s been a year of growth, strengthened partnerships, and a shared commitment to shaping the future of this vital industry.
With maritime contributing over £5bn annually to the Liverpool City Region economy, our work is grounded in ensuring this sector thrives. From representing our members at the highest political levels to fostering innovation and collaboration. 2024 has been about amplifying the voice of maritime and driving progress across the board.
New Leadership, New Direction
During 2024, Mersey Maritime has undergone several key changes with the objective of positioning the organisation for long-term success. Alongside adapting to the evolving maritime landscape, we have strengthened our leadership team to ensure we remain responsive to the needs of our members and the industry as a whole.
A notable milestone this year was the arrival in February of Commodore Phil Waterhouse as our new chairman. Phil, Group Corporate Affairs Director at APCL and former Royal Navy Regional Commander for Northern England, brings unparalleled expertise and passion to the role, and I’m thrilled to have him on board as we push forward in showcasing maritime’s importance regionally and nationally.
In addition to welcoming Phil, we also made the strategic decision to vacate our Vanguard Way offices in April 2024. Since my appointment as Chief Executive in the summer of 2023, I have worked closely with our team and the Board to conduct a comprehensive review of our operations. This review focused on how we could best serve our members while ensuring the organisation remained operationally sustainable, agile and responsive to industry changes.
Vacating our offices was a crucial part of this process. By making this strategic move, we were better positioned to stabilise and strengthen Mersey Maritime for the future. Although our physical location changed, this transition has had no impact on the quality or continuity of services we are providing. We are excited about what lies ahead and remain fully committed to supporting our members.
Stakeholder engagement
This year has been one of political change and opportunity. May saw Steve Rotheram secure a third term as Liverpool City Region Mayor, and in July the Labour Party were returned to government in Westminster after 14 years in opposition. These shifts have opened up new possibilities for maritime, both regionally and nationally.
Over the past 12 months, I’ve had the privilege of strengthening our relationship with the LCR CA by joining its Business & Enterprise and Innovation boards, giving Mersey Maritime a seat at the table to ensure the sector’s needs and ambitions remain front and centre.
In Autumn, when Liverpool hosted the Labour Party Conference, we seized the opportunity to showcase the significance of the maritime industry, hosting a packed-out Mersey Maritime fringe event that focused on the diversity and strength of the Liverpool City Region’s maritime sector which is focused around the strategically important Mersey Estuary. We were honoured to have Mike Kane MP, Maritime Minister, speak about the industry’s importance. Discussions centred on the economic impact of maritime, with a focus on how our iconic river and estuary facilitates significant volumes of trade, supports high-quality, skilled jobs, and drives productivity, with the industry playing a key role as a foundational sector for the entire regional economy. Maritime in the LCR isn’t just something to be proud about in history – it has a real, tangible and dynamic future ahead of it.
Continuing our efforts to elevate the region’s maritime industry, in October 2024, I had the privilege of joining Steve Rotheram and other business and civic leaders from the city region on a high-level trade mission to the United States, visiting New York and Boston. As a key gateway for North American imports, the Port of Liverpool plays a crucial role in transatlantic trade, making it essential to maintain and strengthen these important connections. With the US being the city region’s largest export market, its highest source of overseas investment, and the second most valuable visitor market, this trip was a strategic investment in our region’s future prosperity.
Membership activity
On the home front, I’m proud to say that Mersey Maritime continued to offer a rich and varied events programme throughout the year. We hosted more than 30 events over the last 12 months, reaching over 1,500 members and stakeholders, strengthening our connections and driving engagement within the industry. In addition to this, we have been addressing key subject matters such as innovation, decarbonisation, and digitalisation through our activities.
Diversity is one of our key priorities at Mersey Maritime, and in 2024, we made significant strides in advancing this goal. Partnering with WISTA UK, we hosted a Diversity in Maritime networking evening at HMS Eaglet in Liverpool, bringing together industry leaders for valuable networking and knowledge sharing. During the event, I was honoured to be named the North West WISTA UK Ambassador.
We also launched our DE&I forums, with our first event focused on shipping and ports. These forums will continue to grow, with more events planned for 2025, as we work to foster a more inclusive and diverse maritime sector.
Building on our commitment to wider diversity and inclusion initiatives, in June, Mersey Maritime was honoured for its support to Defence and the wider Armed Forces community. We were proud to receive the ‘Silver Award’ under the Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, joining several of our members, including Kays Medical, Marine Specialised Technology, and Seaking Electrical, in this recognition.
Building relationships has been a priority and as part of this we have been actively engaging with wider stakeholders such as the Propeller Club Liverpool, British International Freight Association, the Bank of England and the Offshore Energy Alliance to strengthen our network and explore collaborative opportunities.
And in a spectacular close to the year, the 10th annual Mersey Maritime Industry Awards took place in the magnificent surroundings of Liverpool Cathedral. More than 450 guests attended the event, where winners were announced following the input of a panel of expert judges and over 3,000 industry votes – the highest number ever recorded.
Maritime innovation
Of course, another key priority for us is innovation, particularly around decarbonisation and the digitisation of our industry. We are delighted to close 2024 on a very positive note with the announcement that Mersey Maritime will receive £100,000 in funding to deliver a Navigating Maritime Innovation in the Liverpool City Region project. This initiative aims to attract foreign investors to the region and provide a boost to the North West economy. This funding is part of the government’s nearly £1 million investment in British coastal towns to help grow local economies, originally announced at London International Shipping Week in September 2023. Nine maritime clusters across the UK will receive a share of this funding, to support investment in local industries, as well as delivering skills, training, and educational programmes. We welcome this significant support from the Department for Transport, with matched funding also from local maritime industry and academic institutions, which will help Mersey Maritime and our members across the Liverpool City Region maximise innovation opportunities.
Final thoughts
2024 has felt like a landmark year when recognition of our sector is higher amongst political leaders than it has been for years. Both the Combined Authority and the new Government are increasingly recognising the vital role maritime will play in the UK’s economic and net zero ambitions.
We are proud of what we, and our members, have achieved in 2024. These achievements have been made possible thanks to the dedication and expertise of our dynamic, including Simon Eardley, our Head of Policy and Innovation, and Emma Wilson, our Marketing and Events Manager.
Looking ahead to 2025, we are excited to build on this momentum and we are currently working on a new strategy for our organisation to ensure we continue to evolve and meet the changing needs of our members. Our focus will remain on fostering innovation, decarbonisation and digitalisation, driving forward our skills and DE&I initiatives, and further enhancing our connections within the industry.
We want to take a moment to thank our members for their ongoing support and we look forward to continuing to work together in 2025.
