News: The Workboat Association joins Maritime UK
The Workboat Association has joined Maritime UK, the umbrella body and collective voice for the UK’s £46.1bn maritime sector.
At its meeting on 21 January 2021, the National Council unanimously approved an application for membership from the association. The maritime industries come together through Maritime UK to make progress on key areas of shared interest. Maritime UK’s national priorities are people, competitiveness, regional growth, environment and innovation.
The association follows Belfast Maritime Consortium, who were the latest organisation to join the national umbrella body in July last year. Maritime UK’s objectives are to champion and work to enable a thriving maritime sector. It does this through a combination of industry coordination and campaigning coupled with its own programmes in each priority area.
The Workboat Association, established in 1994, represent more than 100 workboat owners and operators in the UK and Europe and aims to promote trade, skills and safety standards within their part of the maritime industry. The Workboat Association act as a point of contact between its members and key regulatory and industry bodies, promoting common standards and shared best practice. The Workboat Association will be fully engaged in all Maritime UK workstreams.
Sarah Kenny, Chair of Maritime UK said: “We are delighted to welcome The Workboat Association into the Maritime UK community. These are incredibly important times for our maritime sector: whether responding to Brexit, getting to Net Zero or developing the talent needed to drive our sector forward, we will get there because we choose to work collaboratively, and achieve more for doing so.”
Kerrie Forster, Chief Executive Officer of The Workboat Association said: “Our joining of Maritime UK is a fantastic opportunity for both the workboat sector and the wider maritime contracting community. It is The Workboat Associations’ intention to be an enthusiastic and active member of the Maritime UK National Council and its working groups. We intend to use our involvement to steer maritime policy and subsequent campaigns proactively to the benefit of all, we look forward to our new engagement with pride and passion.”
Ben Murray, Director of Maritime UK added: "We’re excited to welcome the workboat industry to Maritime UK and look forward to working with the team and members to make progress toward our shared ambitions. It’s hard to think of a year more important for our sector than this and the entire Maritime UK family is looking forward to deepening our work with the WBA."
Read more about joining Maritime UK as a member here.
Read more about The Workboat Association and their work here.