The UK Chamber of Shipping has responded to the Government’s 2025 Spending Review, issued on 11 June
On measures to enable prosperity, power trade and drive growth Stef Kenyon, Director of External Affairs, said:
The UK Shipping industry is a powerhouse of growth, contributing £16 billion to the UK economy and supporting over 98,000 jobs. In the wider supply chain, we support £46.2bn in GVA to the economy and over 728,000 jobs.
We power global trade and deliver prosperity right around the UK, and are therefore a vital part of our trade, transport and economic infrastructure.
Given the industry’s vital role, it’s disappointing that today’s announcements lacked measures to support the competitiveness and unique position of UK Shipping.
The passenger shipping sector is essential to the movement of people, goods and vital supplies around our nation. Ferries provide a lifeline service to over 2.4 million people around the UK, and we have called for these lifeline services to be temporarily exempt from the UK ETS maritime scheme, – throughout the UK, as in Scotland, – so that operators can continue to deliver these essential services, while making investment decisions for a decarbonised future.
With increased global energy insecurity, and the scale of the renewable transition ahead, the role of shipping in supporting and enabling the UKs new and developing energy infrastructure has never been more important. Shipping is essential to the energy transition—from transporting wind farm components to maintaining turbines year-round and we would welcome moves from the Government to ensure that the UK is well-positioned to exploit the unique growth opportunities for the UK, such as offshore wind and renewable energy developments.
By creating the right economic, regulatory and employment frameworks to make the UK an attractive market shipping business in the UK. This would support growth, create employment opportunities and advance efforts to make the UK a green energy superpower.
On the drive to deliver a green transition, she added;
The UK Chamber and the Shipping Industry has led the way in calling for ambitious targets to decarbonise shipping and reach Net Zero goals.
Further to the recently published Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, we urge the Government to provide a package of net zero measures and funding over a multi-year timeline to support the delivery of the alternative fuel infrastructure needed for international and domestic shipping operations.
We would also welcome clarity from the Government’s on continued funding for UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (SHORE), and Clean Maritime Demonstrator Competition (CMDC) and the Zero Emission Vessel and Infrastructure (ZEVI) funding rounds, as these remain critical for shipping and the wider maritime industry’s net zero transition, until technologies mature, and investment risks are reduced to attract private finance.
The Government must also now work to facilitate the roll-out of plug-in electrical shore power to ports across the UK, and for key UK ports also need to be prioritised for additional grid capacity and connectivity to ensure the success of shore power investments via UK SHORE. This essential infrastructure investment is vital to meeting net zero commitments, driving economic growth and supporting increased inward investment.
These measures will help provide confidence that our industry will receive the necessary access and infrastructure to enable its transition.
However, these efforts must also be matched by support for international efforts to decarbonise shipping at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). While we recognise the need for a domestic Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for domestic shipping, we would urge HMG to lead at the international level, recognising the primacy of international cooperation efforts at the IMO, in order to ensure a global level playing field and secure the maximum possible effectiveness of global measures to reduce emissions.
On skills and training, Kathryn Neilson, Director of the Merchant Navy Training Board said;
“It is essential that Government continue to support maritime training and skills in order to safeguard the future of our vital industry.
We welcomed the Government’s commitment, in May, to continue the Support for Maritime Training scheme until March 2026. However, further certainty of funding for the duration of this parliament, as a minimum, is essential to securing the future of the UK seafaring workforce.
Just last week, the Secretary of State for Transport, pledged her support to plug the skills shortage in the sector, and further Government support to the, industry led, National Awareness Campaign – There’s always more to Sea – would enable industry and Government to advance these efforts, drawing diverse talent to our sector and raising awareness of maritime careers.
We look forward to further partnership with Government in these efforts to ensure that we are equipped to meet the skills needs of the future.
