Maritime UK Solent is a new business-led body that will bring together the array of maritime assets based in the Solent region, to promote and strengthen them
Iain MacKinnon, Secretary to the Maritime Skills Alliance, shares his views on the issue of seaside towns and the wider maritime economy, focusing especially on the Isle of Wight.
As well as having two catamarans built here on the Isle of Wight, the ferry company also awarded a £10 million contract to a Birkenhead company to build its new state-of-the-art freight-only ferry.
The purchase of the sites will be funded by regeneration funds, approved by the council in its budget for 2019/20, but is subject to being able to agree a purchase price with Homes England.
The general manager says the investment means the facility in East Cowes, which employs over 1,000 Islanders, will not only be able to survive, but thrive and grow.
One of the group with plans for a cultural arts centre in East Cowes points out that she's been fighting for five years to keep employment on the site and would do nothing to jeopardise that.
The new curriculum will include boat-building, including specifications and designing prototypes; navigation electronics; celestial navigation; tides; admiralty chart conventions; shipping forecasts; practical boat-handling skills; and attending Cowes Regatta to celebrate the production of boats.
Isle of Wight based Diverse Marine have signed an Agreement with SAFE Boats International to represent the company’s world renowned product portfolio in the United Kingdom.