{"id":61244,"date":"2015-09-09T16:29:16","date_gmt":"2015-09-09T16:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=df6d98d452d0b082e68e7ed58eab729b"},"modified":"2015-09-09T16:29:16","modified_gmt":"2015-09-09T16:29:16","slug":"speech-importance-of-the-uk-ship-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=61244","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Importance of the UK Ship Register"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Good afternoon, and welcome to the splendour of the Locarno Room.<\/p>\n

This venue was named after a set of international treaties, which were initialled in Locarno in Switzerland in October 1925, but then formally signed here in London in the following December.<\/p>\n

So it is fitting that we should gather here during London International Shipping Week to tell you about the importance of the UK<\/abbr> Ship Register.<\/p>\n

And in particular the changes we have planned to make the UK<\/abbr> Ship Register more attractive, so that it rightly becomes the ship register of choice for quality owners and operators.<\/p>\n

We are just about past the middle point of the week and many of you may already have attended other events.<\/p>\n

If so, you will by now be familiar I hope with a key message from this government.<\/p>\n

Which is our relentless commitment to economic growth throughout the maritime and marine sectors.<\/p>\n

Those sectors already contribute at least \u00a311.8 billion annually to the UK<\/abbr> economy.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week we published the Maritime Growth Study<\/a>, under the leadership of Lord Mountevans.<\/p>\n

The study provides a compelling analysis of the industry and how a successful, commercially focused, ship register can support the growth of our maritime sector.<\/p>\n

We support the broad thrust of its findings, and while we\u2019ll respond fully once we have considered the details, change is already underway.<\/p>\n

And certainly, the UK<\/abbr> Ship Register is very much at the heart of our growth plans.<\/p>\n

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency<\/a> is already driving change to support our ambitions to improve the UK<\/abbr> Ship Register.<\/p>\n

The agency\u2019s track record for doing things differently is good.<\/p>\n

The MCA<\/abbr> modernised the way that Her Majesty\u2019s Coastguard coordinates search and rescue, delivering a more resilient, joined-up national network, with more rewarding jobs for our brilliant cadre of Coastguard Officers.<\/p>\n

The MCA<\/abbr> is delivering \u00a31.6 billion investment in the new harmonised search and rescue helicopter service with modern airframes.<\/p>\n

And the MCA<\/abbr> recognised the need to change to make the UK<\/abbr> Ship Register more attractive and responsive to its customers.<\/p>\n

Sir Alan Massey and his team deserve great credit for establishing a panel of industry leaders and experts to examine how the service could improve.<\/p>\n

I am delighted that we have Robin Mortimer, Chief Executive of the Port of London Authority, here today.<\/p>\n

Sir Robin chaired the UK<\/abbr> Ship Register Advisory Panel, as well as sitting on the Maritime Growth Study industry advisory group.<\/p>\n

He will speak about the findings from this independent review<\/a> shortly.<\/p>\n

Alan Massey will then tell you about the changes underway and planned, highlighting what the UK<\/abbr> flag has to offer. <\/p>\n

But first I want to emphasise the importance of quality.<\/p>\n

The size of the merchant fleet is often used to assess the success of a flag state. <\/p>\n

Be in no doubt that we want to see more ships joining the UK<\/abbr> Ship Register.<\/p>\n

But equally I want to assure everyone that we will grow our flag while maintaining quality.<\/p>\n

Those factors are not mutually exclusive \u2013 we can, and we will, have both.<\/p>\n

The safety of ships, seafarers, passengers and cargoes is our top priority and is non-negotiable.<\/p>\n

The UK<\/abbr> Ship Register has a proud record as one of the best performing flags in the major Port State Control regimes.<\/p>\n

It has a reputation for maintaining the highest international standards.<\/p>\n

And we will do nothing that will threaten that reputation. <\/p>\n

We can become more internationally competitive, without compromising on safety.<\/p>\n

The best ship operators want to trade safely.<\/p>\n

They invest money, time and energy into safe operations.<\/p>\n

They know that the financial and reputational cost of an accident is just too great to contemplate.<\/p>\n

And they know the assurance and sense of pride that comes with flying the Red Ensign and the backing of the UK<\/abbr> Ship Register.<\/p>\n

I would now like to invite Robin Mortimer to say a few words about the work and recommendations of the Advisory Panel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A successful, commercially focused UK Ship Register can support the growth of our maritime sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61244"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61244\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}