Business

Special week to focus on maritime sector contribution to economy

NORTHERN Ireland's maritime sector had a turnover of £430 million last year, directly contributed £180m in gross value added to the economy and supported more than 3,000 jobs.

And a special awareness week has been launched to underline the significant role highly skilled maritime workers, both at sea and onshore, play in making the UK a world leader in the maritime business

The Seafarers Awareness Week (running until June 30) has been organised by the charity Seafarers UK to highlight the regional businesses and economic contribution of an industry that is largely 'out of sight out of mind' despite 95 per cent of imports and exports – that's much of the food in shops and fuel - arriving by ship.

Every year, 65 million passengers and 500 million tonnes of cargo move through the UK's ports, and the maritime industry is bigger (at £47 billion) than aerospace, pharmaceutical and road freight combined (£29.5 billion).

Previously ships berthed in city centre harbours and the comings and goings of seaborne trade were highly visible. But today ports are highly automated, cargo ships get bigger every year, using the latest technology and subject to intense security - and seafaring is a very different career.

"As an island nation with a long and proud maritime history, we are ideally placed to make the most of the forecast growth predicted across the industry in many sectors," says Commodore Barry Bryant, director general of Seafarers UK.

"The UK has unrivalled expertise, a highly skilled workforce and many exceptional organisations and businesses contributing to the flow of global seaborne trade that few of us fully appreciate."

Seafarers Awareness Week aims to shines a spotlight on the breadth of career opportunities the sector has to offer - from captains and engineers, to dockers and deep-sea divers.