Letter from the Chairman October 2017
Dear Members & Partners
What an excellent autumn it has been for the UK offshore wind industry and especially for the Humber region. My five-year-wish-list has so many ticks on it that now I’ll need to start another one! Those projects that were long into the future are now starting to see the light of day especially off our coast with Triton Knoll and Hornsea Project 2. We’ve long championed the idea of an offshore wind O&M centre of excellence in the Humber and are absolutely delighted with the announcement of the ORE Catapult and the University of Hull’s partnership.
Over the past eight years, THMA has helped facilitate a world-beating offshore wind O&M cluster that is successfully working in the UK and Europe as well as more recently in developing global markets such as the USA and Asia. This initiative will build on our growing expertise and further establish the Humber region as an offshore wind centre of excellence.
Offshore wind has also helped revitalise the wider Humber blue eonomy and build upon the existing strengths of our port-centric industries. In September we organised a Humber Maritime Showcase during the prestigious London International Shipping Week 2017 in order to further raise the profile of the region and its maritime industries. The Humber was highlighted in speeches at several events including at the House of Parliament and Lancaster House indeed mentioning Team Humber Marine Alliance along with Mersey Maritime as exemplars of maritime cluster development in the UK.
This resurgence in our maritime economy … blue growth is evident in the demand for skilled personnel which will soon see the announcements of new maritime skills initiatives and facilities… as they say watch this space!
Kind regards
Mark