UK Chamber signs MOU with Society of Maritime Industries, British Marine

TIN news:        The UK Chamber of Shipping has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Society of Maritime Industries and British Marine, to set out the basis for the three organisations to work together for the benefit of the industry as a whole.
 
Shipping Minister Robert Goodwill said: "The commitment made by the Society of Maritime Industries, British Marine and the UK Chamber of Shipping to renew collaborative working is a welcome initiative and we are determined to support them in growing our share of the global marine sector, helping talented people find careers and attracting business to Britain."
 
Guy Platten, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Chamber of Shipping, added: "The UK Chamber and its partners have been pooling resources and working evermore closely for a number of years, and the MOU is a further step towards this goal. We welcome the Maritime Growth Study's recognition of this process and the industry remains well placed to build a broad alliance across the maritime community to effectively represent its interests, and promote the UK as a world-class place to do maritime business."
 
Howard Pridding, Chief Executive of British Marine, commented: "The three organisations that have entered in to the MOU are aware of the changes we anticipate seeing in the way the Government interacts with the marine and maritime industries. As a result of the publication of the Department of Transport's ‘Maritime Growth Study: keeping the UK competitive in a global market' earlier this month, the Memorandum of Understanding is intended to be an early and positive response to the report's call for greater collaboration between industry bodies. British Marine, along with the other two parties, endeavour to ensure that our combined members have a strong voice in the discussions that will take place over the coming months on the recommendations made in that report."
 
"The marine and maritime industries are a vibrant and diverse sector which has increasingly recognised the benefits of closer collaboration" added John Murray, Chief Executive of the Society of Maritime Industries. "This MOU is a public declaration of this collaboration and is very much in keeping with the recommendations of the Maritime Growth Study."
 
The MOU was signed by the UK Chamber's Vice President, Grahaeme Henderson, Duncan Cunningham, Vice Chairman of The Society of Maritime Industries and Fiona Pankhurst, President of British Marine at the recent Southampton Boat Show