John Hayes News

UK Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani MP joined the first meeting of maritime sector's new Women in Maritime Taskforce, demonstrating government support for the initiative. At the meeting she said: “This task force will be crucial in opening up the wealth of career opportunities in the maritime industry to women around the country. “The UK has one of the most competitive maritime sectors in the world and with only 3% of the workforce being women, it is vital more take advantage of the exciting opportunities the sector has to offer. Maritime UK – the umbrella body for the UK’s shipping, ports, business services, engineering and leisure marine industries – has established a Taskforce to address fairness, equality and inclusion within the maritime sector.

Setting out to increase fairness, equality and inclusion within the maritime sector, Maritime UK has established a Women in Maritime Taskforce, a move welcomed by the U.K.’s new Maritime Minister, Nusrat Ghani MP. “I am delighted to see Maritime UK taking action to attract more women into our maritime industries, and I welcome this taskforce as an important first step,” said Ghani, who is only the second woman to hold the Department for Transport portfolio for the U.K.’s £40 billion maritime sector.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May reshuffled the cabinet replacing John Hayes as the shipping minister with Jo Johnson. UK Prime Minister on Twitter said: "Jo Johnson MP becomes Minister of State at the Department for Transport and Minister for London."   Later the government sources confirmed that Jo Johnson was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Transport and Minister for London on 9 January 2018.    Jo was Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation from July 2016 to January 2018. He was elected Conservative MP for Orpington in May 2010 and re-elected in May 2015.   May announced her intention to refresh the cabinet last week. She also tweeted that Chris Grayling MP remains Secretary of State for Transport.

Nautilus International has welcomed confirmation from shipping minister John Hayes that the government has agreed to the Union’s calls for a review of the UK’s system for issuing Certificates of Equivalent Competency (CECs). Nautilus is a trade union and professional organisation representing more than 22,000 maritime professionals in the UK, Netherlands and Switzerland. In a letter to the Union, the minister said he had asked Sir Alan Massey, head of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA), to undertake a review of the way in which CECs are given to foreign officers seeking work on UK-flagged ships. Sir Alan has told Nautilus that the review will be treated as ‘a matter of priority’ and the MCA will work with the Union, other social partners and industry experts to progress it.

The UK Chamber of Shipping, with backing from 40 shipping companies, has this week written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, asking the Government to double the amount of funding available for seafarer training as soon as possible. The letter was also sent to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond and the Minister of State, Department for Transport, John Hayes. The UK Chamber, in conjunction with Nautilus International, has submitted a proposal for the Government's existing Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme to be extended. “The Government’s review of SMarT recognised that change was necessary and recommended the level of support should increase from £15 million to around £30 million annually…

The Maritime sector makes a substantive macroeconomic contribution to the UK through turnover, Gross Value Added (GVA), employment and through the compensation of employees., says a report by Maritime UK, which is  commissioned the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR)  to estimate the value of the UK maritime sector. The CEBR findings were formally launched in Parliament on Wednesday 13 September 2017 by Maritime Minister, Rt Hon John Hayes MP, Chair of International Trade select committee, Angus MacNeil MP, former Maritime Minister Jim Fitzpatrick MP and Maritime UK Chairman David Dingle. It is estimated that the sector directly supported just over GBP 40 billion in business turnover, GBP14.5 billion in GVA and 185,700 jobs for UK employees in 2015.

The UK Chamber of Shipping's CEO Guy Platten and its president Dr Grahaeme Henderson were among a delegation of international shipowners and major figures from the shipping industry that visited 10 Downing Street on Monday as part of London International Shipping Week 2017. The delegation, led by Maritime UK, took part in a round-table debate with government ministers to discuss both the challenges and opportunities facing the UK's maritime industry, and how the government can strengthen the country's appeal as an attractive business centre. UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling chaired the debate, which was attended by Liam Fox, Secretary of State for International Trade…

Representatives of the British and Hong Kong maritime business sectors have agreed to forge a closer working relationship. Under the terms of a new Memorandum of Understanding, Maritime London and the Hong Kong Maritime & Port Board (HKMPB) will cooperate in a range of areas including promotional activity, training and sharing of best practice for maritime business services. The agreement was signed in London during London International Shipping Week by Chan Fan, Frank, JP, Secretary for Transport & Housing…

The U.K. Government’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) has awarded a five-year contract for a new Scottish Emergency Towing Vessel (ETV) to Ardent Maritime Netherlands BV, to begin on December 31, 2016. The ship is the Ievoli Black, a 70-meter towing vessel of some 2,283 gross metric tons and a bollard pull of 139 metric tons, capable of firefighting operations, anchor handling, towing, research and underwater services. The Marnavi-owned Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessel is experienced in ETV operations, having served as an ETV for the Netherlands from 2010 to 2013.

Concerns about UK coastal security are to be raised with Government Ministers following a meeting of an influential Parliamentary maritime group. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Maritime and Ports is to seek assurances from Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill MP about measures to bolster Great Britain’s inshore borders in the fight against such threats as people traffickers, organised crime, illegal fishing, terrorists and drugs smugglers. It is also to copy the letter to Shipping Minister John Hayes MP. A centralised command and control structure, multi-agency operations and co-ordinated intelligence gathering were among the issues raised at the meeting at Westminster.

Dr. Nikolas Tsakos of Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. was reelected for two further years by the INTERTANKO Council who met this week in London. The Council members also engaged in dialogue with the IMO Secretary General, Kitack Lim, as well as the Rt Hon John Hayes CBE, Minister of State (Department for Transport). Lim, who has been Secretary General since January 2016, expressed his positive views about the contribution of INTERTANKO to the regulatory process at IMO: “The contribution made by INTERTANKO to the regulatory process at IMO has been of tremendous value over many decades. The Rt Hon John Hayes CBE, whose role as Minister of State (Department for Transport) covers the shipping industry, also addressed the Council, where he provided a brief view on the impact of Brexit.

The countdown to London International Shipping Week 2017 (LISW17) officially began last night with an exclusive launch reception held at the iconic Norton Rose Fulbright building on London’s South Bank. The launch reception brought together representatives from many of the maritime world’s leading organisations and figures from UK Government to learn of the aspirations, plans and exciting opportunities that LISW17 will deliver between September 11-15, next year. Addressing the 130 invited guests, Jeremy Penn, Chief Executive at the Baltic Exchange and Chairman of the LISW17 Steering Group, proudly acknowledged that London International Shipping Week had firmly established itself as a major event in the world’s maritime calendar.

Associated British Ports marked the latest in a series of multi-million dollar investments in the port of Southampton by inviting the Rt Hon John Hayes CBE MP to open its brand new vessel traffic service (VTS) operating room, (September 21). The Minister of State at the Department of Transport was in attendance as Britain's leading ports company revealed its $5.2m investment in a new office with state-of-the-art equipment at Ocean Gate, Southampton, which will be manned on a 24/7 basis.

Robert Goodwill, MP for Scarborough and Whitby, has been named as the UK’s new shipping minister. As Shipping Minister, he will have responsibility for completing the Maritime Growth Study. Earlier he was appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport on Tuesday, but his specific duties within the department have been announced this week. He replaces John Hayes MP, who has held the position since July 2014 and has been moved to the Home Office. Goodwill will have responsibility for completing the ongoing review of the nation’s shipping industry and its international competitiveness, being conducted by the UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency, says a statement of the ministry. Goodwill has some previous experience in a transport capacity.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe T.D., announced today that he has agreed arrangements with his U.K. counterpart, Minister John Hayes MP, for light dues paid by ships coming into ports in Ireland and the United Kingdom from April 2015. Light dues fund the Aids to Navigation (lighthouses, buoys, beacons and radio aids) operated by the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) in Ireland, and by Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board in the U.K. The three lighthouse authorities, their integrated working arrangements and the single operating system for light dues represents a long standing cooperation between Ireland and the United Kingdom. A joint Ireland-U.K.

The “hard work and dedication” of a 25-year old Merchant Navy officer cadet has been recognized with an award that will be presented by the U.K. Shipping Minister at a ceremony in London tomorrow, Wednesday, October 15, 2014. Jonty Turnbull of Blackpool and the Fylde College, who was serving on-board the Foreland Shipping-owned vessel, MV Hartland Point, is the 2014 winner of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) Officer Trainee of the Year Award. The award will be presented at Haberdashers Hall…

UK Energy Minister John Hayes is due to speak at a new one-day event for the oil & gas decommissioning sector established to help overcome the challenges facing companies dealing with infrastructure that has come to the end of the lifecycle. He joins a line-up including some of the oil & gas decommissioning sector’s most experienced figures who will present at Decom Offshore 2013, being held by Decom North Sea (DNS), the offshore oil & gas decommissioning forum. It is taking place in Aberdeen on March 27. The aim of the day, entitled ‘‘Decom Offshore – Confronting Challenges, Creating Opportunities’, is to introduce operators and major contractors to innovative technologies, techniques and solutions which can help overcome key issues faced in decommissioning projects.

Statoil and Statkraft have acquired the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm project through the acquisition of all shares in Dudgeon Offshore Wind Limited (DOW), a subsidiary of the UK energy company Warwick Energy Limited. Following a successful partnership in developing the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of North Norfolk, Statoil and Statkraft will now work together to develop the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm. The project could deliver many hundreds of jobs during the construction phase and, once in operation, will provide renewable energy to the UK market. Dudgeon has recently received an offshore consent that allows for up to 560 MW of installed generation capacity.

To mark this year’s National Apprentice Week (6 – 10 February 2012), Finning Power Systems (Finning), the UK’s sole supplier of Caterpillar marine engines, is announcing that places are now available for its next intake of marine apprentices. The company is seeking young, enthusiastic talent to join its long-established marine apprenticeship scheme; a scheme that has been offering young people in the UK the opportunity to develop their engineering skills since the early 1960s.