Society Of Maritime Industries News

A consortium of British companies, academia and government  formally established a new national center for maritime innovation and technology (MarRI-UK). The center, offering  development opportunities for the UK’s $45B maritime sector, is based at the University of Strathclyde, with hubs to be announced across the UK. The center will provide a collaborative innovation vehicle to jointly tackle innovation and technology challenges.The first area of collaborative focus is Clean…

Safety solutions provider Survitec is returning to Seawork International in Southampton from July 3-5, a year after winning the Spirit of Innovation award at last year’s event. The focus of Survitec’s stand this year will be SOLAS 360; a brand-new concept aimed at improving overall safety levels through offering the products and services required in a holistic and consistent manner, available through one supplier. SOLAS 360 includes lifeboats, liferafts, personal lifesaving appliances…

Maritime UK participated in a Department for International Trade scoping mission aimed at boosting maritime exports to the Nordic-Baltic region. The discussions which took place at the Foreign Office, provided an opportunity to highlight the work of Maritime UK in response to the Maritime Growth Study and the various initiatives being explored to boost the UK's maritime exports and raise the profile of such opportunities both to domestic producers and in international markets. The DIT official outlined that the Nordic-Baltic market is the UK’s sixth most important trade partner and that ambitious modernization and infrastructure development plans and continued economic growth present significant opportunities for UK services companies looking to expand into the region.

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. 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. 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.

The Society of Maritime Industries is the voice of the U.K. maritime engineering sector, and its Chief Executive John Murray is the very public and indelible face of the organization. SMI promotes and supports the interests of organizations with activities and interests in this sector both to its membership and the wider world. In total it is a trade association of more than 150 organizations across the maritime, offshore energy, subsea, naval and academic sectors, and the society has been busier than ever, as a number of drivers have buoyed the prospects of all matters maritime in the U.K.

When the Institution of Naval Architects was formed in 1860 it became one of the bastions of Victorian engineering, enabling and encouraging the exchange of knowledge, information and good practice in the field of naval architecture. The basic principles laid down in the early days saw the Institution thrive as a body representing all the maritime nations of the world and this was recognized in its incorporation by Royal Charter in 1910 as the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA).

Registration for the largest-ever Oceanology International (ExCeL London, March 11-13, 2014) is now open at oceanologyinternational.com. With 520 exhibitors from 35 countries taking up over 8,000 m2 net of space, the biennial global forum is where industry, academia and government come together to share knowledge and connect with their peers in the marine technology and ocean science community, thus improving their strategies for measuring, exploiting, protecting and operating in the world’s oceans. “It is not only the exhibition that is record-breaking, we have an impressive series of eight conferences and three highly topical panel discussions planned by the industry for the industry,” explained Event Director, James Coleman of Reed Exhibitions.

The fifth business survey of UK marine scientific industries by the Society of Maritime Industries highlights continued growth for the Marine Science and Technology sector & reveals it is a major contributor to the UK economy. The survey was conducted at Ocean Business, a trade show held in Southampton during April 2013, hosting over 300 companies representing the world’s leading ocean technology suppliers and service providers. As with earlier studies, this report aims to provide an insight into current business activity in terms of market sectors…

The Society of Maritime Industries is pleased to announce that Malcolm Clements will be joining the organization in June in the dual role of Director of the Association of British Offshore Industries (ABOI) and Ports and Terminals Group (PTG). John Murray, the Society’s Chief Executive, in welcoming Malcolm’s appointment said “Malcolm brings a wealth of experience in supporting the marine industry and will be a valued new addition to our team”. Following a career in banking and finance as a corporate and project financier with a number of international institutions…

Peter French, Chief Executive of BMT Group, has been appointed by the Board of AIRTO to the role of Vice President, with immediate effect. Peter has served as BMT’s Chief Executive since 2005, and has served on the AIRTO Board as a Director since March 2007. BMT Group, which is has an annual turnover of £142million, is an international design, engineering and risk management consultancy, working principally in the defence, energy and environment, marine risk and insurance, maritime transport and ports and logistics sectors. BMT has been a long standing member of AIRTO having joined in 1986.

The Society of Maritime Industries has conducted a third survey focused on UK companies operating primarily in Marine Science and Technology (MST) activities. The survey was conducted at Ocean Business 2011, a trade show held in Southampton during April 2011, hosting over 300 companies representing the world’s leading ocean technology suppliers and service providers. As with earlier studies, this report aims to provide an insight into current business activity in terms of market sectors, market size and business confidence both current and forecast. This 2011 report has the additional benefit of data comparison with the previous years, allowing identification of possible trends in marine science and technology business.

Archie Bethel, CBE, has succeeded Alan Johnston, CBE, as Honorary President of the Society of Maritime Industries at the Society’s Board meeting today. Archie Bethel is Divisional Chief Executive of Babcock International Group plc’s marine and technology division. In welcoming Bethel to his role, the Society’s Chairman, Peter French said “I am delighted Archie has agreed to be our President. Bethel joined Babcock in January 2004 and was appointed Chief Executive of Marine on its formation in mid June 2007.

Mr Archie Bethel CBE has succeeded Mr Alan Johnston CBE as Honorary President of the Society of Maritime Industries at the Society’s Board meeting today. Archie Bethel is Divisional Chief Executive of Babcock International Group plc’s marine and technology division. In acknowledging his appointment Archie Bethel commented: “I am honoured to have been appointed as the President of the Society of Maritime Industries. In particular, I look forward to representing the maritime engineering sector which contributes so much to the UK economy. In welcoming Archie Bethel to his role, the Society’s Chairman, Peter French said “I am delighted Archie has agreed to be our President. We are fortunate that he already knows the Society well, having served on the Board since 2007.

The Carbon Trust is today launching a global competition to find world-leading solutions to the problem of transferring engineers and equipment safely from boats to wind turbines as far as 300km offshore in 3 metre wave heights. The project aims to improve the economics of offshore wind by boosting revenues by as much as £3bn at a crucial time for the next generation of Round 3 offshore wind farms. The need for better access solutions is driven by the location of the next generation of wind farms to be built over the decade. Today’s wind farms are typically less than 20km from shore in relatively benign sea conditions, but in future…

The Society of Maritime Industries, the umbrella organization of equipment and services in all areas of the maritime industry in United Kingdom and Tribon Solutions announced a co-operation agreement. The co-operation will provide the members of the Society of Maritime Solutions with a framework of activities to further strengthen their communication with and presence at shipyards worldwide by participating in Tribon.com. Tribon.com is an Internet based service for the shipbuilding industry linking together shipyards, maritime equipment suppliers and ship owners in a comprehensive global network. Tribon.com centers around a database of shipbuilding components and equipment.

The Society of Maritime Industries, the umbrella organization of equipment and services in all areas of the maritime industry in United Kingdom and Tribon Solutions today announced a co-operation agreement. The co-operation will provide the members of the Society of Maritime Solutions with a framework of activities to further strengthen their communication with and presence at shipyards worldwide by participating in Tribon.com. Tribon.com is an Internet based service for the shipbuilding industry linking together shipyards, maritime equipment suppliers and ship owners in a comprehensive global network. Tribon.com centers around a database of shipbuilding components and equipment.

Since the time of the Romans, the evolution and development of the maritime sector has been of vital importance to Britain's commercial and economic interests. Early links were established with trading partners worldwide, links that endure today — particularly in our relations with the U.S. As befits a country with arguably the third largest navy for defense in the world, our expertise in systems and equipment integration is much sought after by shipbuilders across the globe and, understandably, many U.K. marine equipment companies view the U.S. Coastguard Agency Deepwater project with more than a passing interest. So where does the Society of Maritime Industries fit into the picture? Put simply, our mission is to promote and support the interests of all U.K.