Applications have opened for the latest Maritime Accelerator programme, supporting innovators with pioneering solutions to some of the sector’s toughest challenges.

Up to eight UK SME businesses will be supported in a five-month programme to help develop innovations and progress them towards commercial readiness. Successful applicants will be able to receive between £10,000 and £20,000 of funding to trial solutions with a programme partner; along with business and investment support, coaching, and mentoring provided by the Connected Places Catapult.

Now in its third year, this year the Maritime Accelerator is focusing on four challenge areas: power, propulsion and vessel operations; shore side technology and infrastructure; safety and security; and resource management.

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Ardersier Port Haventus Limited , the owner of Ardersier Port, has secured a £100m joint credit facility, made up of £50m each from the Scottish National Investment Bank and UK Infrastructure Bank.

The facility aims to underpin the creation of an infrastructure facility to support industrial-scale deployment of fixed and floating offshore wind.

Construction has now begun on the site, which includes the development of a new 650-metre quay wall and associated quayside.

Based in the Moray Firth, Ardersier Port is well located to support offshore wind developers and manufacturers of offshore wind components and equipment, as the circa 35 GW of ScotWind and INTOG project pipeline is built out.

Sitting within the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, Ardersier should be able to offer a 450-acre site with quayside access and suitable infrastructure for marshalling, integration, manufacturing, and assembly of offshore wind.

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In their latest article, Navy Lookout, considers the potential upgrade projects at Devonport to accommodate Royal Navy warships into the next few decades.

Devonport is fundamental the operation of the RN and is the largest naval support facility in Western Europe. The site can be divided into two main parts, the Naval Base which is owned by the UK Ministry of Defence and supports active vessels of the Surface Flotilla and ships undergoing Operational Sea Training. The base also includes HMS Drake, home to about 3,000 personnel and has Single Living Accommodation for 1,800 sailors and marines.

The Dockyard, the main focus of the article, is a separate entity, owned and operated by Babcock International Group as a centre of deep maintenance and upkeep for surface ships, submarines and amphibious vessels as well as providing Fleet Time Engineering Support.

The ‘One Devonport’ blueprint was published in 2021 and outlines proposed changes that may take place over a long period, equipping the base until the 2050s. The biggest element of the development work is the £750M Submarine Waterfront Infrastructure (SWIF) project which is now underway.

What is still less certain is exactly how frigate and other major warship support will be conducted although there are a few options that are under consideration, subject to costs and feasibility.

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Scotland has become the central hub for constructing all major surface ships of the Royal Navy, highlighted during a ministerial visit that emphasised the vital role of apprentices in advancing British shipbuilding.

The Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge MP, toured facilities in Govan and Rosyth, observing the construction of HMS Cardiff, HMS Glasgow, HMS Venturer, and HMS Active.

During his visits, Cartlidge met with workers and over 180 apprentices, witnessing the progression of the Type 26 frigates in Govan and Scotstoun, and inspecting the Type 31 frigates at Rosyth.

Babcock International Group, under CEO David Lockwood, is set to recruit over 500 apprentices during the construction phase, with more than 180 apprentices and 3,500 employees already working at their Scottish sites. Additionally, Babcock has invested £35 million in the new digitally enabled Venturer Building at Rosyth, designed to enhance productivity by allowing parallel construction of two Type 31 frigates.

BAE Systems is also making significant investments, with 600 apprentices and graduates employed in Glasgow, and plans to recruit nearly 2,700 more across the UK by 2024. The construction of a new £12 million Applied Shipbuilding Academy at their Scotstoun shipyard is part of a broader £300 million investment aimed at enhancing skills and adopting new technologies.

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The Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom has launched the third year of the £7 million Freight Innovation Fund Accelerator to deliver innovative tech across the industry to decarbonise freight and boost the UK supply chain as part of the government’s plan to grow the economy.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can receive up to £1.8 million in government funding to support the freight sector in deploying cutting-edge AI technology and automation to improve the way trains, lorries, vans, and ships carry parcels and goods.

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Restoring nature in Scotland’s seas will get a more than £2m funding boost as NatureScot announced detailing a new partnership to protect and restore Scottish seagrass meadows, with support from SSEN Distribution. This is believed to be the largest-ever single donation to marine enhancement in Scotland.

Since it was established, SMEEF has secured and awarded more than £3.3m to marine enhancement in Scotland. Ethical considerations are hugely important, so all proposals go through a bespoke due diligence process to underpin confidence in the programme. The partnership with SSEN is a successful example of this process.

Seagrass is a wonder plant, the only true flowering plant in the sea. The meadows it creates in shallow and intertidal waters are home to a bewildering array of wildlife and are often likened to rainforests because of the thousands of species they provide food and shelter for. Scottish seas are a special place for marine habitats like seagrass, with our coast stretching 18,000 km and containing 8,000 species or more.

Seagrasses have another great advantage: their leaves and roots take in carbon dioxide and lock it away, making them great natural solutions to help tackle the climate crisis as well as reducing biodiversity loss. They can also improve water quality, reduce contamination in seafood, and act as the first line of defence along coasts by reducing wave energy, protecting people from the increasing risk of flooding and storms.

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With the UK government also rumoured to be actively sounding out foreign investors to bolster the battered and beleaguered Ferguson Marine shipyard on the Clyde, Scottish Wellbeing Economy Secretary Màiri McAllan MSP has told MSPs they will “leave no stone unturned” to secure the future of the shipyard.

She responded to calls for the Port Glasgow yard to be awarded the contract for seven smaller CalMac Ferries Limited ferries by stating she would do all she could to secure an order book for the firm, but restated that such direct awards were only permitted in strictly limited circumstances.

Ms McAllan said she expected to receive a revised business plan from The Scottish Government-owned yard by the end of this month after its previous request for £25 million of investment was rejected by her predecessor Neil Gray last year.

She said the plan would have to be “deliverable, makes economic sense and meets our legal requirements on subsidy control”.

Ms McAllan said she was “impressed by the passion and commitment shown by the trade unions in making the case for future investment”.

She said she had met union leaders last week when she assured them that “ministers will leave no stone unturned when it comes to securing a future for the yard and shipbuilding on the Clyde.

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Babcock International Group and the UK’s Submarine Delivery Agency have agreed a contract worth an estimated £560m to deliver the deep maintenance and life extension programme of the Vanguard-class boat.

The nuclear submarine arrived in Plymouth in June, 2023 to prepare for the programme that will enable her to continue operational patrols into the 2030s. Work on HMS Victorious is already underway.

HMS Victorious is the second Vanguard-class submarine to undergo a life extension package at Babcock’s Devonport facility. Through the maintenance work on HMS Victorious, over 1,000 jobs will be sustained in the south west. Alongside this, Babcock is continuing to build its workforce through its Plymouth-based Babcock Skills Academy, which includes a focus on submarine support and the critical nuclear skills required to perform deep submarine maintenance.

The Vanguard fleet will be replaced by the Dreadnought-class submarines from the early 2030s.

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Civil engineering contractors are being invited to express interest in working on upgrades at the Hunterston Port and Resource Campus (PARC) construction yard in North Ayrshire.

The former coal port is being redeveloped by its owner, Peel Ports Group Clydeport. Much of the site is already under option, including for an undersea energy cable factory.

Peel has already begun local statutory consultation processes, including public consultations, before submitting applications for planning permission and the other licences and permits that will need to be in place before work can start.

Peel Ports Clydeport is keen to talk to contractors ahead of any formal procurement process. It has this week issued a periodic indicative notice (PIN) soliciting registrations of interest.

The PIN goves no indication of likely contract value.

Port director James McSporran said: “In support of Hunterston’s ongoing operations, and our proposals to transform the construction yard into a facility suitable for servicing offshore renewables, the issuing of this PIN will allow us to explore the market with a view to launching a competitive tender process for the works at a later date.

“Our vision for Hunterston PARC is of a nationally significant energy and marine campus, bringing together leading industry operators, world-class universities and the latest innovators to deliver technological advances in areas such as power generation and aquaculture.”

Contractors are invited to register their interest through the ‘Find a Tender’ platform. Procurement discussions will take place this year with a view to there being an invitation to tender later this year or early in 2025.

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A funding package has been agreed to secure an estimated £350 million in inward investment for a major energy industry expansion in the Highlands.

Sumitomo Electric UK Power Cables Ltd (SEUK), a subsidiary of Japanese company Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd (SEI) is planning to establish major operations in the region, supplying high voltage cables to the growing offshore wind energy sector.

The Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Scottish Enterprise (SE) have approved up to £24.5m in public sector support to secure the project. This comprises £19.37m in Scottish Government funding, £4.6m from HIE and £0.53m from SE.

The project includes plant and equipment investment, construction of a new purpose-built factory, and long-term land leasing and associated costs.
It will stimulate significant economic activity across industry supply chains at regional, Scotland and UK levels.

This includes creating around 330 jobs in Scotland over the next ten years, 265 of which will be in the Highlands and Islands including 156 well paid manufacturing jobs on site.

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