Mersey beat

WITH a maritime history dating back almost 300 years, Liverpool and the surrounding region of Merseyside is home to a thriving maritime community. In fact, there are currently more than 500 companies based in Merseyside involved in the maritime industry with a combined turnover of £1.3 billion and employing more than 6,000 people.

In a bid to promote the maritime services on offer on Merseyside, an organisation called Mersey Maritime has been created. The aim of the organisation is to maintain and expand Merseyside’s maritime cluster to become a world-class benchmark centre of excellence in every sector of maritime operations and services.

As well as shipowners, freight and forwarding agents, ship agents, shipbuilders, insurance companies, cargo handlers, communications providers and engineers, Merseyside’s maritime cluster is home to a number of maritime law firms. Among these is the international law firm, DLA, whose Liverpool office acts for a number of the industry’s leading names in the area, including ABP and P&O.

“Merseyside is at the heart of the maritime businesses operating in the north-west of England and is a good location to service all marine businesses operating not only in the north of England, but also the west of Scotland, Ireland, Wales and the south-west of England,” says Brian Harris, partner of DLA’s marine, aviation and reinsurance group. “The Mercantile Court operating out of Liverpool and Manchester provides an excellent forum for the resolution of even the most significant maritime and commercial disputes which might otherwise only be resolved in the Commercial Court in London.”

DLA can trace its roots in Liverpool back as far as 1821, and it is not alone. Possibly best known for acting on behalf of the owners of the Titanic, Hill Dickinson has also had a presence on Merseyside since the early 1800s. “The advantage to Hill Dickinson of being located in Liverpool is that there are a significant number of local clients in the shipping industry who want and need specialist advice from solicitors on the doorstep rather than having to instruct expensive London solicitors,” says John Hulmes, partner and head of the Liverpool shipping group.

And there are plenty of local clients to go around. In addition to Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), companies already based in the area include Shell UK Ltd, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA-CGM, Bahr Behrend & Co Ltd, Bibby Line Ltd, Cory Brothers Shipping Ltd, Inchcape Shipping Services, OOCL (UK) Ltd, P&O Nedlloyd Ltd, Cargill Plc and Atlantic Container Line (ACL). In fact, ACL significantly expanded its presence in Merseyside earlier this year when it moved its ship planning and accounting departments from Rotterdam to its waterfront offices on the River Mersey in the heart of Liverpool.

And, as Nigel Wallis, business development partner at DWF Solicitors, which was instrumental in the setting-up of Mersey Maritime, points out, “There are many advantages to having an office on Merseyside, most notably access to some of the country’s leading companies in the fields of not only maritime but insurance, finance, food, property, science and education.”

The concept of maritime clusters is nothing new, and Merseyside certainly seems to be off to a flying start. But how does Mersey Maritime intend to not only maintain the existing cluster but also entice new businesses into the region? “By establishing this cluster, we aim to promote the many advantages offered by the Merseyside region in all areas of the industry. By revitalising the maritime industry here during the next three years, not only do we hope to attract new companies to the area but also create new jobs and increase tonnage by three per cent annually,” says John Mutch, chief executive of Mersey Maritime.

Among the initiatives proposed by Mersey Maritime is the creation of a new £20 million training institute. The institute, which will work hand-in-hand with other maritime education providers in the area, will offer the highest standards of education and training in all areas of the industry, both nationally and internationally.

For Merseyside’s maritime law firms, this can only be good news. “For too long, the national and international markets have failed to appreciate the great strides that the Merseyside shipping industry has made in recent years. It is hoped that Mersey Maritime will provide a strong voice for the shipping industry on Merseyside and emphasis that not only is the industry alive and kicking but that it is - and remains - a major success story,” says Hulmes.

The ability to compete with London firms is also seen as a key advantage of the Mersey Maritime initiative. According to Harris, “The Mersey Maritime initiative can assist the maritime law community by promoting their services outside the Merseyside area on an international basis to all maritime businesses that may want either to use the port of Liverpool or, alternatively, to employ the services of an international law firm with significant marine expertise operating out of Liverpool and offering the same quality of legal services as London, but at competitive rates.”

Mersey Maritime hopes to bring new companies to the area and to ensure that Liverpool and Merseyside remain firmly stamped on the maritime map for centuries to come.