Ben Wallace, the UK Government Defence Secretary and ‘Shipbuilding Tsar’, is confirmed today as the keynote speaker at the Society of Maritime Industries (SMI) annual conference, due to be held virtually on March 16 and 17.
Mr Wallace will reveal the Government’s latest thinking on the Shipbuilding Strategy ahead of the publication of a refreshed strategy later this year. Mr Wallace will discuss key themes including how the strategy is focused on benefits to ‘union of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland’ and how it is evolving to include all sectors of the UK ship and boat building enterprise and not solely naval ships. He will further address the need to provide consistent work flows and avoid ‘boom and bust’ cycles.
The conference will hear from ministers, officials and leading industry figures, and will detail how Government, business and academia have joined forces in the form of the Maritime Enterprise Working Group (MEWG) to help drive forward the recommendations of the 2016 Parker review. The review by Sir John Parker, the veteran industrialist, led to the Government’s national shipbuilding strategy, an industrial policy launched in 2017 aimed at recalibrating skills, capacity and competitiveness at British shipyards.
SMI CEO Tom Chant said the event will be titled ‘Building the future of the UK’s shipbuilding enterprise’
“This is a hugely significant moment for British shipbuilding and the supply chain,” he said. “The conference is a must attend event for any business or professional keen to seize opportunities in the reinvigorated British shipbuilding and marine engineering sector. We will hear about intentions to release the pipeline of work from all key UK Government shipbuilding programmes, which offer significant opportunities to UK industry over the next 15 years. This includes commercial vessels such as ferries and research ships as well as workboats and amphibious craft.”
Mr Chant said the event will feature presentations from the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Transport, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy as well as the Royal Navy. He said they will be joined by leading industry figures from BAE Systems, BMT as well as double Olympic sailing champion Iain Percy, CEO of Artemis Technologies.
Robert Courts MP, the Minister for Maritime will examine the impact of digitisation, decarbonisation and autonomy while Amanda Solloway the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation will look at the global offshore wind market and industrial policy. Graham Stuart MP, the Minister for Exports, meanwhile will speak about reinforcing British export success and help for SMEs. Other highlights include a joint presentation by QinetiQ and Princess Yachts on the potential for cross sector collaboration to drive decarbonisation who follow John Howie from Babcock International Group speaking in his capacity as Chairman Maritime Research and Innovation (MarRI-UK).
Mr Chant said the event will reinforce just how ‘fundamental’ maritime is to the UK economy offering substantial export and growth opportunities for British firms post Brexit.
The conference will host a permanent portal for businesses to access digital content generated for the event, as well as the recent work of the Maritime Enterprise Working Group. It will further provide a forum for discussion and engagement on the National Shipbuilding Strategy. He said the platform will enable companies to highlight their role and offer in the shipbuilding industry as well as input into the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
Tickets for the event are £75, (£50 to members of SMI) to register to attend: https://smievent.com/annual-conference/
For details of Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsor package contact: info@maritimeindustries.org
| SMI ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2021 – 16-17 MARCH 2021 | |
| BUILDING THE FUTURE OF THE UK’S SHIPBUILDING ENTERPRISE
broadening the National Shipbuilding Strategy and creating a shared vision for the future |
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| Tuesday 16 March 2021 | |
| Welcome – Conference Chairman, Rear Admiral Rob Stevens CB | |
| Keynote Speech – The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP, Shipbuilding Tsar and Secretary of State for Defence | |
| Delivering the UK National Shipbuilding Strategy – Vice Admiral Nick Hine CB, Second Sea Lord and DCNS
– A perspective on what we have achieved so far, as well as the Royal Navy’s plans for the future. |
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| UK Shipbuilding Competitiveness and Market Focus – Damien Bloor, First Marine International
An independent appraisal of where we are and some of the things we need to do. |
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| A More Ambitious Vision and Strategy for the UK’s Shipbuilding Industry – Joanne Hamer, Ministry of Defence
– The UK Shipbuilding Enterprise Rich Picture and the Strategic Plan for UK Shipbuilding. |
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| Break | |
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Creating the Right Environment – Amanda Solloway MP, Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy – Industrial policy, Offshore Wind opportunities, innovation support via UKRI and the R&D Roadmap. |
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Harnessing our Scientific Superpower and Innovation – John Howie, Babcock International and Chair MarRI-UK – Enabling the UK shipbuilding enterprise through commercialisation of R&D. |
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| The Potential for Cross Sector Collaboration – Victoria Doherty, QinetiQ and Nick Smith, Princess Yachts
– An example of leveraging emerging technology in one sector for use in another. |
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| Panel discussion and Q&A session – orchestrated by the conference chairman. | |
| Wednesday 17 March 2021 | |
| Welcome to the Second Day – Conference Chairman, Rear Admiral Rob Stevens CB | |
| Keynote Speech – Robert Courts MP, Minister for Maritime.
– Digitalisation, Decarbonisation and Autonomy. The £20 million Clean Maritime Demonstration Programme, autonomous coastal shipping, MarLab and the Maritime Futures Team. |
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| Building the Future – the Maritime Enterprise work strands: | |
| Productivity – Patrick Carnie, Babcock International Group and Sheena MacKenzie, University of Strathclyde
– Technology Roadmap, Benchmarking and Centres of Excellence. |
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| Supply Chain – Brian Johnson, BAE Systems
– The value of the Supply Chain in the shipbuilding enterprise. |
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| People and Skills – Richard Westgarth, BMT Group
– Bringing together all of the good work on skills, including the Maritime Skills Commission. |
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| Break | |
| Reinforcing Export Success – Graham Stuart MP, Minister for Exports, Department for International Trade
– Opportunities in offshore wind and other maritime market areas, improving access to UKEF and help for SMEs. |
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| Leveraging the High-Performance Yacht Sector – Iain Percy, Artemis Technologies.
– The quest to commercialise America’s cup technology and become a market leader in maritime decarbonisation. |
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| Panel discussion and Q&A session – orchestrated by the conference chairman. | |
| Closing Address – Tom Chant, Chief Executive, Society of Maritime Industries | |
SOCIETY OF MARITIME INDUSTRIES BACKGROUND
SMI is the trade association for companies involved in the maritime engineering, maritime science & technology and business services industries. Our approach is member focused in everything that we do in profiling and promoting the skills of the UK maritime industry; facilitating new business, assisting with research and innovation, and promoting best practice for our members. We engage with our members on a personal level to gain insight, enabling us to adapt to ever changing circumstances and market conditions, ensuring that we are consistently championing our member’s needs.
Our members’ interests are represented by our six councils which focus on the markets in marine science and technology, commercial marine including ship building, repair and equipment, maritime autonomous systems, digital technology, ports and terminals infrastructure and maritime defence and security including naval platforms, systems, security and safety.
Influencing Maritime Policy
SMI maintains a positive long-term engagement with Government, positioning us as the first port of call in influencing and advising maritime policy in the UK .
We represent our members by lobbying government and NGO’s for improvements to the business environment using our industry insight to advise on government policy associated with the maritime engineering and manufacturing, marine science & technology and business service industries.
Genuine Industry Insight
SMI Directors work very closely with members to understand their business issues and opportunities. This brings genuine insight and a deep understanding of the maritime industry that helps shape how the SMI represent its members. Such insight is employed to connect our members to new business opportunities before going on the open market, and assists in maintaining a positive long-term dialogue with Government and position to influence.
Collaboration & Connectivity
SMI is committed to connecting members with each other in both our physical and virtual environments and we encourage collaboration between members large and small for mutual benefit. Furthermore we value collaborating and connecting with other trade organisations to further champion the voice of the UK maritime industry.