Industry body Mersey Maritime welcomed two shadow ministers, and the local MP, to Birkenhead to offer a briefing on its latest projects including the £23m Maritime Knowledge Hub

Senior members of Labour’s shadow ministerial team visited Mersey Maritime this week for a briefing on its latest projects and a tour of the site of the proposed £23m Maritime Knowledge Hub (MKH).

Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Jim McMahon, Shadow Maritime Minister, Mike Kane and Birkenhead MP, Mick Whitley, joined Mersey Maritime chief executive Chris Shirling-Rooke and other members of his team for the visit in Birkenhead. 

In a packed afternoon session, Mr Shirling-Rooke presented on all the latest activities, future priorities and COVID-19 industry updates from the Liverpool city region’s powerhouse maritime sector.

Known to be worth some £4.2bn to the local economy, employing around 52,000 and offering some of the most skilled and secure jobs in the country, the visit was timely as the sector looks forward as the UK emerges from the pandemic crisis.

The briefing session then moved to the former hydraulic tower location at Birkenhead docks which sits at the heart of the Wirral Waters regeneration scheme led by Peel Land & Property and delivered in partnership with local and regional government.

The MKH project has the potential to drive jobs and growth within the industry substantially over the coming years. Mr Chris Shirling-Rooke said: “Mersey Maritime is proud of our strong relationship with parliamentarians and government departments.

“It gives us another unique way to champion the interests of the maritime industry locally, at a national level. We were delighted to welcome the shadow ministers and our local MP to brief them on the importance of the sector and outline the crucial role it has played in keeping the country fed, fuelled and supplied throughout the pandemic crisis.

“As we look to ‘Build Back Better’ and respond to the other great challenge of our time, the journey to net zero and decarbonisation, it was great to be able to outline what we can do as an industry to deliver on our response to climate change nd also boost the regional economy with investment.”

Mr McMahon added: “The transport brief I hold is extremely varied so having the opportunity to visit one of our key maritime regions was welcome indeed. The Mersey Maritime role as a cluster organisation with jobs, growth and working together on behalf of the industry in this area was fantastic to see.

“After such a challenging year for us all, we know that the maritime sector has played a crucial role in helping us all throughout the pandemic crisis and will continue to do so in the months ahead.”

And Mr Kane also said: “We all want to see the opportunities that highly skilled and good quality jobs can bring to our coastal communities around the United Kingdom. The Liverpool city region has a long maritime history and exciting future ahead of it.

“Building on past engagement, I was delighted to receive an update from the Mersey Maritime team on all they have delivered over the last year as well as the key projects they are working on to further expand and develop the industry in the future”