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The University of Southampton
Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute

SMMI sponsors Coastal Powerhouse category at prestigious Maritime UK Awards ceremony

Published: 24 September 2019
Maritime UK Awards

The Maritime UK Awards are the first truly national maritime awards in the UK, organised by industry, for the benefit of industry. They are here to celebrate businesses and organisations making a contribution to a sector that is worth £37.4bn to the UK economy.

The inaugural event took place in Southampton on 19th September, following a successful drive from the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for the first awards ceremony to be held in the Solent. The opening address was given by Helen Bulkeley with the winners announced in front of 400 of the industry’s finest at a glittering ceremony at Southampton’s Leonardo Royal Southampton Grand Harbour Hotel during the Southampton International Boat Show.

Maritime UK Awards acceptance speech

SMMI was delighted to sponsor the Coastal Powerhouse category which was won by Mersey Maritime with the Solent LEP and Port of Cromarty Firth being the other finalists in this category.

The award was presented by SMMI Director, Professor Damon Teagle who said

  “The Southampton Marine & Maritime Institute (SMMI) is proud to sponsor the Maritime UK Awards hosted here in Southampton. As a globally leading maritime nation, the UK has strength in several clusters of maritime activity – or ‘Coastal Powerhouses’. Southampton and the Solent region in particular are an internationally significant economic gateway, with exceptional marine and maritime capabilities.”

“In the Solent region maritime represents 20% of the economy, supports 120,000 jobs and facilitates trade worth £77.5bn. The Southampton Marine & Maritime Institute harnesses the multidisciplinary skills of the University of Southampton and its partners to help the marine and maritime sectors develop their use of research and innovation to improve productivity, economic growth and sustainability.”

Highly respected experts from a variety of businesses and government departments were involved in the panel and judge Iain Lower, Head of Naval Staff at the Royal Navy, said: “The standard of entrants surpassed our wildest expectations both in terms of quality and numbers.  More than anything it shows the UK maritime sector, which adds £37.4bn to the UK economy and supports just under 1 million jobs, is bursting with energy and innovation and is proud of its achievements.”

The event also saw the formal launch of Maritime UK Solent by The Solent Enterprise Partnership (LEP).  This new, business-led body will ensure the array of maritime assets are harnessed and promoted so that the area continues to be at the forefront of pioneering developments in the sector.

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