Brexit Britain will be the best country in the world to do maritime business thanks to more trade opportunities, more jobs and more investment in new technologies, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said today (11 September 2017).

The government has committed to working with industry to deliver an ambitious export plan for when we leave the European Union.

This will maximise new trade opportunities and significantly grow the UK’s maritime sector to become a global front runner in future innovation and technology.

The government will achieve this by:

• creating a plan to shape and promote the maritime industry up to 2050
• collaborating with industry partners to significantly grow the sector by seizing new trade opportunities
• calling on maritime employers to double the number of apprenticeships they offer
• launching a British shipbuilding ‘renaissance’ as part of the National Ship Building Strategy

The Transport Secretary spoke ahead of at a meeting with international industry figures at 10 Downing Street on Monday to kick-off London International Shipping Week, the biggest promotional UK shipping event in recent history.

Mr Grayling will shortly announce plans for a public discussion to help shape and promote the future of the maritime industry both up to 2050 and beyond.

This vision will looks at how the government can support future growth in an industry which directly supports at least 111,000 jobs and contributes around £15 billion to the UK economy each year.

The Department for Transport will also call on employers to double the number of apprentices they employ in order to boost skills, jobs, and productivity across the UK.

This announcement comes after the government published its ‘National Ship Building Strategy’, which aims to step up a prospective ‘renaissance’ in British shipbuilding.

Building on the government’s industrial strategy, it outlines an ambition to transform the procurement of naval ships, make the UK’s maritime industry more competitive and grow the Royal Navy fleet by the 2030s.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

Leaving the European Union will allow Britain to seize new opportunities and rediscover our heritage as a truly global, seafaring, trading nation.

Our maritime industry, far from being a story of the past, is a thriving success story – worth around £15 billion a year to our economy and supporting a quarter of a million jobs.

This government is determined to work with the maritime industry to help it grow significantly and make the UK a world leader for shipping business.

The roundtable summit of maritime leaders at 10 Downing Street will strengthen the partnership with investors and UK exporters and identify post-EU exit opportunities.

Shipping week will highlight the opportunities to boost trade and investment in the sector as the UK leaves the European Union and looks to strike new deals with nations around the world.

The government has already made good progress to bolster our trade and export relationships including by supporting the first Maritime UK trade mission to China and Hong Kong.

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:

The UK’s maritime industry brings billions of pounds a year into our economy and will be vital to our continued prosperity when we leave the European Union. As an international economic department, our ambition is that we lead the way in world-class shipbuilding and maritime technology.

I’m delighted to be here at London Shipping Week to demonstrate our commitment to strengthen this thriving industry and promote the very best of British maritime innovation to the world.

The government has already implemented the recommendations from the 2015 maritime growth study including setting up a ministerial working group for maritime growth. We have also supported maritime training for officers/cadets through the £15 million SMarT budget.

The work to develop a vision for the maritime sector will include maximising the value of new trade deals and a maritime skills strategy that identifies the industry’s future skills needs and the steps required to achieve them.

The ship building strategy also aims to increase the export British ships overseas, and boost innovation, skills, jobs, and productivity across the UK.

Trevor Woolley

Trevor Woolley spent most of his career in the Ministry of Defence, including as Director General Finance from 2003 to 2009, and also served in the Cabinet Office. Since retiring, he has been a non-executive director of the Oil and Pipelines Agency, a lay member of Hounslow Clinical Commissioning Group, and, since 2014, a member of the Advisory Council for National Records and Archives (deputy chairman since earlier this year). A keen cricketer and historian, in 2015 he published ‘Unnatural Selection – 50 Years of England Test Teams’.

Hillary Bauer OBE

Hillary Bauer OBE is an adviser on culture and heritage and was formerly Head of the International and Cultural Property Unit at the then DCMS, with considerable experience of handling Freedom of Information requests. She is currently a Trustee of the Towner Gallery Eastbourne and of the Ben Uri Museum and Gallery in London. She is also a member of the Board of Keep Britain Tidy.

Lesley Ferguson

Lesley Ferguson is Head of Archives and Engagement in Historic Environment Scotland and was previously Head of Collections in the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. She has a range of experience in the heritage sector managing archives and collections, including in information management, the development of public access, and undertaking and facilitating research.

Michael Smyth CBE

Michael Smyth CBE is a member of the Legal Services Board and of the Fundraising Regulator. He is a Visiting Professor at Queen Mary University of London and is Queen’s Counsel honoris causa. He is former head of the government practice at Clifford Chance.

Sir John Ramsden

In 1975, after three years in finance, John Ramsden joined the FCO. He had postings to West Africa, Vietnam, Berlin, Geneva and the FCO in London, specialising in Europe and the EU. He was HM Ambassador to Croatia from 2004-08. On retirement, John joined the Ambassador Partnership LLP (2009-15). He has various pro-bono roles. He has been a member of the Advisory Council since 2015.

ACNRA Members are not remunerated.

Britain’s famous Red Duster will fly proudly in new ports across the globe as part of our new trade drive after our exit from the EU.

The flag of the UK’s Merchant Navy, more properly known as the Red Ensign, is one of the most admired and well known emblems on the high seas with every vessel sporting it under the protection of the Royal Navy.

And now Shipping Minister John Hayes wants to increase the amount of trade carried under the Duster to showcase Britain’s trading and maritime might around the world.

The government is working to double the size of the UK Ship Register from 16 to 30 million gross tonnage after we leave and build a new partnership with the EU – propelling the UK from 15th place into the top 10 global maritime nations. This will be good for the UK, helping boost trade and exports, create jobs and ultimately boost the economy across the UK.

Maritime Minister John Hayes will use next week’s London International Shipping Week to start the drive for new business, selling the main benefits of flying the British flag including:

• international tax breaks for vessels flying the Duster
• British consular support for ships in foreign docks
• the protection of the Royal Navy

Shipping Week is expected to feature ministers from up to 50 nations around the world and up to 15,000 high level shipping delegates.

Maritime Minister John Hayes said:

In Britain’s post Brexit future we will grow the Red Duster, forging new global relationships.

Our ship register has a special significance and our flag is of distinct quality.

Unfurling the Red Duster shows Britain’s maritime leadership to the world. Once again Britannia rules the waves and the UK will be a dominant maritime force.

The UK Ship Register team has taken great strides to ensure the Red Ensign is more commercially attractive to a 21st century shipping community. For instance, the register’s customer account managers are available around the clock to registered vessels, meaning doing business has never been easier.

The register shows the size of our fleet, measured by the number of vessels and by gross tonnage. It grew by 11.5% between 2015 and 2017.

New-build vessels registered from companies such as Atlantic Container Lines, Stena and Stolt Tankers helped increase the UK’s gross tonnage from 14,470,895 to 16,067,921 over the last 2 years.

Overseen by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the ship register has a reputation for maintaining the highest international standards ever since it was established by an act of King George III in 1785.

On top of the prestige of donning the world’s most recognisable maritime flag, vessels carrying the Red Duster will benefit from British consular support, a world class tonnage tax regime and low registration, survey and certification costs with no annual renewal fees.

The news comes as the UK showcases the best of its maritime industry at London International Shipping Week 2017, which runs from September 11 to 15 2017.

Updated: The deadline for comments has been extended to 07 November 2017.

• Competition drives down the cost for consumers – new offshore wind projects will be delivered as low as £58/MWh from 2022-23
• Further boost to the UK’s low-carbon supply chain, as part of the government’s ambitious Industrial Strategy and upcoming Clean Growth Plan

Eleven new energy projects worth up to £176m per year have been successful in the latest competitive auction for renewable technologies, the government has announced today (Monday 11 September).

The projects, which are set to generate over 3GW of electricity, enough to power 3.6 million homes, demonstrate that the UK continues to be an attractive place to invest in clean energy.

The government is committed to investing in clean technology and driving economic growth as set out in our ambitious Industrial Strategy and upcoming Clean Growth Plan.

The competitive approach is continuing to drive cost reductions in the renewable energy industry – the cost of new offshore wind projects starting to generate electricity from 2022-23 are now 50% lower than the first auction held in 2015 (1). The other successful technologies, Advanced Conversion Technologies and Dedicated Biomass with Combined Heat and Power, also achieved significant savings.

Competition has also driven down the costs for consumers. The capacity delivered in this auction cost up to £528m per year less than it would have in the absence of competition.

Projects are to be delivered across Great Britain from Wales, to the Scottish Highlands and the West Midlands from 2021.

Minister for Energy and Industry, Richard Harrington, said:

We’ve placed clean growth at the heart of the Industrial Strategy to unlock opportunities across the country, while cutting carbon emissions.

The offshore wind sector alone will invest £17.5bn in the UK up to 2021 and thousands of new jobs in British businesses will be created by the projects announced today. This government will continue to seize these opportunities as the world moves towards a low carbon future, and will set out ambitious proposals in the upcoming Clean Growth Plan.

This investment will help the UK meet its climate targets while supporting jobs in Britain’s growing renewable industry. The UK has the largest offshore wind capacity in the world and low carbon businesses have a combined turnover of £43 billion, employing 234,000 people.

Notes to Editors

The Contract for Difference auction results can be found here.

Contracts for Difference, which provide long-term certainty for investors, are designed to drive investment in a new generation of clean, secure electricity supplies. This is the second round of Contracts for Difference auctions, with the first held in 2015. Successful projects receive 15 year contracts.

(1) The cost of offshore wind projects are now 50% lower than the first auction held in 2015 when comparing the lowest clearing price for successful offshore wind projects commissioning in 2018/19 and the lowest clearing price for offshore wind projects commissioning in 2022/23.

Total budget impact for contracts allocated in the second CFD auction round is forecast by National Grid at up to £176.2m/year (in 2012 prices). However, actual annual spend will depend on how wholesale prices and project-specific operational factors change over time.

The Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) now has 10 working days in which to make an offer to successful developers. Developers then have 10 working days after the offer is made to return signed contracts.