Cornwall Marine Network is proud to announce that it has become a founding member of the UK Maritime Regions Network (UKMRN) – a new national forum bringing together the UK’s eleven regional maritime cluster organisations to strengthen collaboration, share insight, and amplify the voice of the UK’s coastal economies.
The UKMRN brings together regional maritime clusters from Cornwall, Humber, Isle of Man, Mersey, Northern Ireland, North Yorkshire, Scotland, the Short Straits, Solent, the South West, and Tees. Each cluster represents the full spectrum of maritime activity within its geography, working daily with industry, academia, local government, skills providers, and adjacent sectors such as energy, logistics, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing.
By forming the UKMRN, the clusters will be able to aggregate regional insight, compare challenges, share learning, and coordinate activity where it adds value. The network provides a simple mechanism for bringing together work already undertaken within each region, offering a coherent route to grounded, place‑based maritime intelligence from across the UK.
Paul Wickes MBE – CEO – Cornwall Marine Network
“The UK Maritime Regions Network is a new national collaboration of regional maritime business support organisations that will ensure we can develop and share projects that support a growing number of maritime businesses. As a group, we can now present ourselves to national and government stakeholders to offer business improvement solutions which drive economic growth on a national, rather than just a local scale. The eleven regional partners will work more closely together to harness the different regional strengths we all have, to create new opportunities that benefit a growing number of member businesses.
The team at Cornwall Marine Network is proud to have invested support over the last decade to help see some of the new regional clusters develop and gain momentum, so the launch of the UK Maritime Regions Network marks the next stage of our journey to reach out to support more people, businesses and maritime communities through stronger working relationships, shared values and ambitions. Our voice will now be heard at a national level.”
A collaborative national forum
The UKMRN will complement existing national maritime organisations by providing an efficient way to connect with all eleven regional clusters simultaneously and to access an aggregated perspective on issues common to coastal regions across the UK.
Region‑specific engagement will continue to be led by individual cluster organisations, ensuring that local strengths, needs, and priorities remain at the forefront.
Four priorities for the first year
- Engagement with Government and national maritime bodies, providing a structured route to regional maritime insight.
- Aggregating network data to evidence collective reach across industry, academia, and coastal communities.
- Showcasing regional economic impact data to demonstrate the contribution of maritime activity to productivity, employment, and innovation.
- Delivering a national “This is my maritime” careers campaign, featuring young people from across the UK in diverse maritime roles.
Speaking on the launch, Stuart Baker, Chair of the UK Maritime Regions Network, said:
“The UK’s coastal regions are home to extraordinary maritime strengths, innovation assets, and communities whose contribution is vital to the national economy. By bringing together the eleven regional maritime clusters, the UK Maritime Regions Network provides a simple and effective way to share insight, compare challenges, and highlight opportunities emerging across the country.
We look forward to working collaboratively with national bodies, Government, and industry partners wherever regional perspectives can add value. This is about ensuring that the voices, strengths, and realities of the UK’s coastal economies are visible, coherent, and easy to access.”
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