Leading lights in the £116bn UK maritime sector start arriving in Liverpool for major industry summit. Tony McDonough reports

Leaders of the UK maritime sector are arriving in Liverpool for a major summit to discuss the future of the £116bn sector.

On Thursday, Mersey Maritime will host its fifth annual Mersey Maritime Exchange. First held in 2019 in Liverpool Town Hall, the Mersey Maritime Exchange was conceived in  response to the Government’s Maritime 2050 report.

This sets out the future of the maritime sector over the next 30 years and this week top of the agenda will be innovation, decarbonisation, skills and digital technology.

A series of panel discussions will take place throughout the day at the event which takes place at the Tung Auditorium in the Yoko Ono Lennon Centre, close to the University of Liverpool main campus.

Speaking will be senior representatives from the Department for Transport, National Shipbuilding Office, British Ports Association, the Royal Navy and seafarers’ union Nautilus International.

Leading UK maritime companies in attendance include Port of Liverpool operator Peel Ports, Bibby Marine, shipbuilder Harland and Wolff and global shipping line Maersk.

This will also be the final Maritime Exchange for Mersey Maritime chief executive Chris Shirling-Rooke who is departing to become CEO of Maritime UK. He has played a key role in growing the Liverpool city region maritime sector which is now worth £5bn a year.

Mersey Maritime’s current head of commercial, Ruth Wood, has been named as interim chief executive. A former executive with Peel Ports, Ruth will take the helm of the Birkenhead-based cluster organisation on July 1.

Maritime 2050 focused on key areas of the maritime sector including technological transformation, decarbonisation and the development of a more inclusive, highly-trained workforce.

Chris said: “The conference shows the real confidence that industry and government have in both Mersey Maritime and our wider eco-system.

“We will be hearing from some of the most influential maritime stakeholders not just from the UK but globally too as well as a number of key industry announcements.”