Mersey Maritime unveils refreshed board as it looks to drive forward further growth in Liverpool city region’s £9bn powerhouse maritime sector. Tony McDonough reports

Maritime industry membership organisation Mersey Maritime (MM) has unveiled a new board.

MM, the representative body for Liverpool city region’s £9bn powerhouse maritime sector, revealed the refreshed board following a newly introduced expression of interest process. This marks the first time it has been chosen through an open and competitive approach.

Data from Liverpool John Moores University’s Global Centre for Maritime Innovation in January revealed the sector was worth £9bn in aggregate value in 2025, up from £5.6bn in 2023. It directly contributed £1.16bn in gross value added (GVA), 12.6% higher than 2023.

Aggregate output refers to the total value of all goods and services produced in an economy over a set period. GVA is similar but subtracts what is called ‘intermediate consumption’ to provide a net value.

In terms of direct business turnover, the report shows the sector generated £3.4bn in business turnover in 2025, 25.1% higher than the £2.72bn recorded in 2023.

Employment in local maritime, which comprises more than 30 sub-sectors from shipping to professional services, has grown at an average annual rate of 9.1% between 2023 and 2025, against a backdrop of stagnant employment growth across the UK economy.

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Mersey Maritime plays a central role in this ecosystem, connecting businesses, fostering innovation, and leading initiatives in skills development, digital adoption, and decarbonisation. The new board members are:

• John Perry – managing director of Grimaldi Liverpool Agency, ACL.
• Stephen Gibney – director of health, safety, site, environment and quality at APCL Cammell Laird.
• Gemma Treadwell – head of customer experience at AP Moller Maersk.
• Gavin Forward – director of fleet new builds at Bibby Marine.
• Natasha Griffin – UK managing director of CMA CGM.
• John Mawer – regional manager, UK at Global Port Holdings.
• Jamie Gray – senior project director, water & maritime at Haskoning.
• Robyn Pyne – programme leader, School of Engineering at Liverpool John Moores University.
• Martin Sealeaf – director of SeaKing Group.

Current chair Phillip Waterhouse, chair / managing of maritime consultancy Steer North, and Philip Hall, port director at Peel Ports remain on the board. Beverley Rice of Robinson Rice Associates, Nigel Quinn of Bibby Marine and Ian Higby, formerly of ACL, are all stepping down.

Ruth Wood, chief executive of Mersey Maritime, said: “Mersey Maritime was established by industry for industry, and we continue to benefit from the commitment of our founding partners, many of whom remain actively involved as members and directors.

“For the first time, new board members have been appointed through an expression of interest process, enabling us to attract a diverse and high‑calibre range of candidates from across the sector.”