UK: Report notes progress on journey to Maritime 2050

Firstly launched in 2019, the strategy sets out the government’s vision and ambitions for the future of the British maritime sector. While the Maritime 2050 strategy originally provided recommendations for seven different themes, this report was filtered through the five key Maritime UK priority areas:

1.Competitiveness

Key priorities and actions within this area have been:

• To create a coordinated and collaborative environment within the UK maritime sector, with links between government, industry and academia that enables the comprehensive delivery of the Maritime 2050 strategy;
• To ensure the UK takes a leading role in the international maritime sector, both through the IMO and directly from industry;
• To develop a competitive business environment for maritime business and consider regulatory and non-fiscal measures in place to attract businesses to the UK;
• To enhance and retain the competitiveness of the UK Ship Register;
• To promote the existing fiscal regime and to engage directly with both SMEs and international maritime companies;
• For the government to consider if the existing secondary regulatory regime is fit for purpose on an ongoing basis and seek to explore opportunities to reduce burdens to business;
• To develop specialist green finance products and define the standards for green maritime finance;
• To enhance the opportunities for UK companies for domestic vessel procurement.

2. People

Focused on the workforce, diversity, skills, careers and welfare, key recommendations within this theme included:

• Establishing a sector-wide careers programme for the promotion of maritime careers across the country;
• Establishing a Maritime Skills Commission and identifying skills gaps across the sector;
• Expanding the Women in Maritime programme to include other diversity issues;
• Ensuring that the UK Tonnage Tax scheme retains its training element;
• Introducing National Minimum Wage, mental healthcare guidelines and standardized ID cards for seafarers.

3. Environment

Despite comprising of long term ambitions that may be hard to measure, there have been notable developments within this theme of the Maritime 2050 strategy. This includes laying down key frameworks and providing initial funding for projects designed to accelerate further developments in innovation, infrastructure and regulation. Successful delivery of key activity includes:

• £20m government funding for the one-year ‘springboard programme’, the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition to support the transition to net zero in the maritime sector through the development of clean maritime technology and feasibility studies on key sites;
• £1.4m grant funding awarded through MarRI-UK Clean Maritime funding call, unlocking a further £1.5m in private funding;
• The UK government published its Clean Maritime Plan in 2019, as a route map for the transition to zero emission maritime sector;
• Government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan is due to be published in 2021, outlining a comprehensive strategy to decarbonise the transport sectors;
• UK’s share of international shipping emissions included within national carbon targets;
• The maritime sector was included within Prime Minister’s ‘Ten point plan for a green industrial revolution’ alongside aviation;
• £160m funding announced to develop port infrastructure for offshore renewable projects including offshore wind as part of the government’s 2021 Budget;
• £30m Strength in Places funding received by Belfast Maritime Consortium to develop a carbon zero hydrofoiling ferry; Shore power capabilities are under development in Orkney and at the Port of Southampton.

4. Innovation

Delivery has focused on establishing the necessary collaborative structures for the sector to work together and then through their initiatives. Successful delivery in this space has included:

• £20m from the government to fund green innovation through the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition;
• MarRI-UK established as a cross-collaborative innovation vehicle at the University of Strathclyde;
• Government provided £4.8m for MarRI-UK to promote maritime technology development. So far, this has funded 21 projects across a wide range of areas including decarbonization, autonomy and digitalization;
• 114 expressions of interest for MarRI-UK innovation funding calls; First Innovation Hub established at the Port of Tyne; Code of practice for the regulation of autonomous vessels published annually;
• Regional innovation USP mapping underway through regional cluster organizations;
• Establishment of MCA MarLab;
• First fully autonomous vessel to set sail from Plymouth to the US in 2021;
• A sector-wide portal for innovation funding opportunities established.

5. Regional growth

Key delivery has included:

• The development of operational regional clusters in Northern Ireland, the Solent, Scotland, Cornwall and the South West, Liverpool City Region, and the Humber region. These clusters comprise Maritime UK’s Regional Council and regularly meet to discuss regional cooperation and involvement in national programmes and initiatives;
• The Regional Cluster Development Programme was in 2019/20 provided £50,000 in government funding for its first phase, which has included the establishment of several new clusters, the development of the Regional Council and a toolkit to support further cluster creation. Government has subsequently provided another £300,000 to support the continued development of the programme;
• The development of Regional Cluster Development Plans in all regions, detailing current work programme and future ambitions. Activity delivered through the regional clusters directly contributes to the delivery of wider Maritime 2050 objectives and increases the level of input for national consultations, events and programmes around subjects such as technology and innovation, careers, skills and training, decarbonization;
• Government explored the case for freeports across England and in 2020 opened the freeports consultation process. As part of the 2021 Budget, the first eight freeports in England were announced; Felixstowe and Harwich, Humber, Liverpool City Region, Plymouth, Solent, Thames, Teesside, and East Midlands Airport. The devolved administrations are currently considering the introduction of their own freeports programmes.
• Funding for several maritime projects in England through ‘MHCLG Get Building Fund’;
• £160m for port infrastructure to develop offshore wind capacity at two UK ports was announced as part of the 2021 Budget.

Whilst we have only just started on our journey to 2050, it is clear that the greatest progress has been made when we work together. Across the sector and then with government. We should take pride in what we have achieved so far, despite the greatest economic and societal shock in modern times,

…said Maritime UK Chair, Sarah Kenny.

Next steps

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1. Maritime UK and its cross-sector working groups will continue to monitor and coordinate delivery activity within their priority areas. Companies and others with detail of activity in support of Maritime 2050 not reflected within this report are encouraged to get in touch for inclusion in future reports and promotion.
2. Case studies promoting activity toward Maritime 2050 will be published on Maritime UK’s website and the sector will be given the opportunity to share details of their own activity – such as an innovation project seeking collaboration partners, through Maritime UK’s website.
3. Following the assessment within this report, Maritime UK and its members will work with the government to prioritize delivery as the sector moves from short to medium-term recommendations.
4. The complete grid of Maritime 2050 short-term recommendations providing updates from government and industry under each of the strategy’s seven themes will be regularly updated.

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