A record 450 guests will gather at Liverpool FC on Thursday, March 8 for the awards ceremony which will celebrate excellence in Liverpool city region’s powerhouse maritime sector. Tony McDonough reports
Industry and political heavyweights from the Liverpool city region, across the UK and overseas will arrive in the city this week to celebrate Merseyside’s £4bn maritime sector.
Backed by big name industry sponsors including Beech Group, Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), Peel Ports and Stream Marine Training, the Mersey Maritime Industry Awards (MMIAs) 2018 take place at Liverpool FC on Thursday, March 8.
The awards dinner, now in its fourth year, is a complete sell-out. Organisers are expecting a record 450 guests on the evening, all coming to celebrate the city’s region’s “best-kept secret” – a powerhouse maritime sector that accounts for 13% of the region’s annual GDP and employs 28,000 people.
Upward trajectory
It is a sector on an upward trajectory with Peel Ports investing £400m in its Liverpool2 deep water terminal at the Port of Liverpool and the iconic Cammell Laird shipyard bidding for the Royal Navy £1.25bn frigate programme, to give just two examples.
BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin will host the MMIAs for the fourth year in a row and will introduce the key speaker for the evening – Eoin Mac Aoidh, a policy expert at the European Commission.
Other high profile figures at the dinner will include Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor, Steve Rotheram, Mark Turner from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, MEP Jacqueline Foster and Guy Platten, chief executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping.
They join other heavyweights including Mark Whitworth of Peel Ports; Professor Nigel Weathrill, Vice Chancellor of LJMU; Helen Kelly, Lloyds List; Andrew Moffat, chairman elect of Maritime UK; Richard Ballantyne, Chief Executive of the British Ports Association; Wirral Council leader Phil Davies and Lars Ugland of Ugland Shipping.
And giving the event a truly international flavour is a high-level delegation from the Port of Rotterdam – the largest port in Europe.
Exciting times
Chris Shirling-Rooke, chief executive of Mersey Maritime, said: “Central to the MMIAs is the celebration of excellence in Liverpool city region’s maritime sector but the scope of the awards is now much bigger.
“Our National Impact Award puts the event on a UK-wide stage and the calibre of attendees from both here and abroad gives it a truly global feel.
“Three centuries ago the Port of Liverpool established itself as a gateway to the world. Few other ports could match its strategic significance. Those great days are returning – from the giants such as Peel, investing to bring the world’s biggest ships to the Mersey, to our dynamic SMEs – at the forefront of technology and innovation.
“These are exciting times for the Liverpool city region maritime sector which is now rightly recognised as setting the example to other maritime clusters across Britain.”
Shortlist for the 2018 MMIAs is as follows:
Best Newcomer – Sponsored by Stellamar
Bibby Marine Services
Isle of Man Marine Cluster
Sensor City
Engineering Company of the Year – Sponsored by RSM UK
Accu-Right Engineering Limited
Dantec
James Troop & Co Ltd
Freight & Logistics Award – Sponsored by Seatruck Ferries
B&M
Liverpool John Lennon Airport & Wynne Aviation
Lombard Shipping & Forwarding
Global Reach Award – Sponsored by Natwest
Eldapoint Ltd
MIRIS
Royal HaskoningDHV
Innovation Award – Sponsored by Peel Ports
Accu-Right Engineering Limited
Liverpool John Moores University
Marlan Maritime Technologies
Maritime Professional Services Award – Sponsored by Tilney
GP Shipping
Hill Dickinson
Royal Haskoning DHV
Positive Impact Award – Sponsored by Associated British Ports (ABP)
Liverpool Seafarers Centre
Merseyside Adventure Sailing Trust (MAST)
The Engineering College
National Impact Award – Sponsored by Maritime UK
Merchant Navy Training Board
Orsted
Peel Ports Group
Survitec
Rising Star – Sponsored by Liverpool John Moores University
Sophie Phillips – Complete Training Solutions
Jamie Bates – Orsted
Emma Wilson – Peel Ports Group
Micro Business of the Year – Sponsored by MTC
Certa Elevators
Fort Recruitment
Sherringtons Associates
SME of the Year – Sponsored by Royal Haskoning DHV
Accu-Right Engineering Limited
Eldapoint Ltd
Offshore Painting Services
Star International
Business of the Year – Sponsored by Stream Marine Training
Accu-Right Engineering Limited
Seatruck Ferries Ltd
Royal HaskoningDHV