LEADINGEDGEPROPELLER CLUB LIVERPOOL

JIM SAYS HELLO TO THE NEW YEAROur President looks back at the year gone and wishes 2017 well

GETTING REAL ON CYBER SECURITYWe look at the new frightening risks facing ships and seafarers

THE NEW WORLD ORDER BECKONSOur lunch speaker on the new world of seaconomics

01/17SAVING OUR MARITIME HERITAGEWhat can be done to make sure our docks and history remain

PROPELLERCLUB

As we enter a new year, especially one with so much seeming uncertainty, we do so with eager anticipation of what is to come. The Propeller Club Liverpool has its challenges in 2017 - we will be embracing change as officers have served their time in office, and we need to secure more members into our number and all the while delivering on their needs and the important role we have in the city.

2016 was a year of succes for our group - we grew once more, we have incredibly successful and well received events and there was a real positive buzz around the club.

This looks set to continue, but there is no shirking or letting up. Which brings us to the incredible work and support that so many people and organisations give to us - it wouldn't be right to single people out, but you know the faces - the smiles that greet you at events, the friendly emails which pop into your inbox and the professional excellence of our events. It is the people who do these things which make your Propeller Club Liverpool what it is....so thank you all.

Again our corporate supporters have stepped up and helped us immensely - we hope that they derive as much value and pleasure from being part of the club and their investment is rewarded. We could not exist without their generosity, so thank you also. We have more lunches to come in 2017 - there will be First Thursdays from February, and with the success of the Christmas Hostelry tour some of us are even excited about the next festive season. Only 11 months to go.

So here we go, a bright year beckons - we hope it is prosperous, enjoyable and fun. If we can assist in making any of those goals a reality, then so much the better. Have a good one!

If you have any questions, comments or would like to help in populating the calendar, just drop us a line. Email propellerclubliverpool@gmail.com

PROPELLER CLUB LIVERPOOLpropellerclubliverpool@gmail.com www.propellerclub.co.uk@propellerists

Propeller Club Liverpool was created to bring a different dynamic to the maritime scene and shipping community in the city and region. We have done this by reaching out and bringing people, companies and

organisations together in one place. We look forward to continuing this in 2017.

A BRIGHT YEAR BECKONS

IN RECORD TIMELIVERPOOL WELCOMED INTO GLOBAL PROPELLER CLUBS

The last Propeller Club Liverpool lunch was held in October at the Racquet Club. We gathered to celebrate our local shipping scene, but also to remember Nelson and the triumph of Trafalgar.

Once again it was another sell out success - as 75 members and guests enjoyed a sumptious lunch and networking drinks, kindly sponsored by maritime security experts Port 2 Port.

Here our President Jim Bellew looks back on what was said as our speaker took the floor and you can read a more indepth report on the talk inside this issue of Leading Edge:

On 20th October 1805, the prevailing mood in the nation was one of uncertainty and concern, what did the future hold? The following day, Trafalgar Day, Nelson’s victory changed the world order and set Britain on course to be a world power! The “ifs and buts” and maybes of history throw up many scenarios as we look to the past.

Exploring and understanding the lessons of times gone by enhances our appreciation of the present and, according to conventional thinking, prepares us for the future. Our Liverpool Propeller club Trafalgar Day lunch adopted this theme with our guest speaker KD (Kate) Adamson delivering to us a challenging take on this concept. Kate is a renowned futurist, author and keynote speaker on the topic and her powerful presentation certainly tested accepted wisdom.

Diving into the maelstrom of change that is disrupting the existing order of societies, industries, technologies and many other aspects of life on our planet Kate provided

a litany of examples where the future represented a disconnect from the past.

Her focus was predominantly maritime and the scenarios she quoted were close to home for the 72 members and guests present. The radical nature of the change she described was at best unsettling and her pronouncement that this was NOT the future; “it was the present” had a profound effect on the audience. These were powerful pronouncements because they were not opinions, they were statements of fact; examples from the real world.

Extrapolation where it was offered was not from the past to the distant future but from the present to the immediate future!

Kate opened the presentation by presenting her credentials as a sought-after consultant to large companies and major organisations and her reputation and the legitimacy of her presentation rattled a number of cages. You could almost hear the synapse in the room popping as the intellects were dragged out of their comfort zones. Could our world be so radically changed? Can the future be so different from the past? What will happen to our industry? Our businesses? Our jobs? Surely we're talking about revolution?

The Q&A that followed Kate’s 20 minute broadside illustrated discomfort and incredulity as well as exploring and examining the concepts that had been presented to this wide selection of maritime professionals. Yes! She was talking about revolution? When? Where? How? The future holds many secrets and surprises! And as the sun rises every morning there arrives a new dawning, a fresh start and a unique challenge just as it did on 21 October 1805. The history is ours to create!

LOOKING BACK: TO OUR LUNCH

LEADINGEDGE

LOOKING BACK TO OUR LUNCH

SAVE THE DATE...NEXT PROPELLER CLUB LUNCH IN LIVERPOOL IS THE 20TH APRIL!

GETTING REAL WITH CYBER SECURITY....

LEADINGEDGE

At the start of 2016 there were many predictions that maritime cyber security would come to the fore. It did, in a big way. Surprisingly and thankfully though there was no reported major casualty relating to cyber risks...that we know of.

However, the experts think this could be the year something big and bad happens to shipping. In order to head off this risk a number of organisations are working to make sure that shipping companies and seafarers understand the issues.

The cyber threats posed and the vulnerabilities onboard ship are real, and so there is pressure building to for action. Security experts are urging shipping to both accept and appreciate where maritime cyber weaknesses are found, and to tackle them.

"BE CYBER AWARE AT SEA" CAMPAIGN

Steven Jones has been working alongside a range of shipping industry stakeholders and campaign director Jordan Wylie as part of the Be Cyber Aware at Sea campaign. The aim is to bring these issues to the forefront and to find solutions which actually work onboard ships. See http://www.becyberawareatsea.com/ for more details and to download posters and guidelines on best industry practice and their newsletter, Phish and Ships...

According to research, the most pressing cyber issues relate to ECDIS and vessel positioning systems. While perhaps the most telling problems relate to what are termed “IT legacy problems”. Ships were for many years something of a technological wilderness, and so old or out-of-date technology has been the norm for years. This

massively increases vulnerability, as even today vessels often use 1990s-era systems and unsupported Microsoft products for key operations. Put simply these are not fit for purpose.

Also incredibly worryingly is the fact, as stated in a survey by IHS Maritime & Trade and BIMCO, that fewer than 20% of shipowners and shipmanagers surveyed incorporated cyber-security guidelines into their fleet management systems.

So we appear to have an incredible situation in which 80% of the industry is in the dark on the nature of the threats facing them, and of the ways of dealing with them. Similarly worrying, it emerged only 22% of participants said their employees had undergone any form of cyber-security training.

This lack of knowledge means that we are not reporting problems either – and that is a major failing. Rather depressingly, but predictably, the IHS/BIMCO study suggested a tendency for shipping companies to hold back on information about their systems being compromised. There is a massive information black hole when it comes to maritime cyber issues.

Only 45% of those attacked have made that information available to the whole company and more interestingly, only 11% have told their insurers! While it was stated that around 80% of those attacked were not covered.

Allied to the calls for awareness, there is a clear need for transparency too. Like piracy, without accurate information and data it becomes almost impossible to effectively manage the risks and

GETTING REAL WITH MARITIME CYBER SECURITY

PROPELLERCLUB

GETTING REAL WITH CYBER SECURITY....

threats posed. Some have called for shared real-time intelligence on threats, while others in the industry would like to see a formal reporting scheme.

While non-shipping companies are beginning to take the potential problems seriously, for shipping the risk are perhaps even greater – but there is a seeming hesitancy to engage with the problem.

The consequences are ignoring or downplaying the problems are alarming. It is one thing to lose data or be scammed financially, but a ship running aground or colliding is something else completely – but the risks are real.

Interim guidelines on cyber related risks in the shipping industry were approved by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) at the recent Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) meeting. You can access the IMO guidelines online at:http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Security/Guide_to_Maritime_Security/Guidance/Documents/MSC.1-Circ.1526.pdf

While this is progress, it is increasingly being seen that the issue needs a more holistic view. It is simply not right to view cyber security as simply an “Information Technology” (IT) issue. Cyber encompasses the whole vessel and crew, and the whole operational chain is both at threat, and a risk.

SHIPOWNERS CLUB: CYBER GUIDANCE FOR CREWS

In another shipping industry initiative, Steven Jones has again been working with the Shipowners P&I Club to develop pragmatic and simple to understand advice for seafarers.

Every ship, whatever the size and trade, is potentially vulnerable and so seafarers need to know what is needed and expected of them to keep ships safe and secure. Understanding and awareness are key aspects of cyber security. All seafarers should be aware of not just the external threats, but of the problems they can introduce onboard too.

As shipboard systems become more sophisticated and connected, cyber security becomes ever more important. Viruses and malware can have huge effects; they can render systems inoperable, or make them do the wrong thing. Whether that is propulsion systems, steering, fuel or navigation, everything is vulnerable.

Some 43% of seafarers in a recent survey said they had been on a vessel which had its systems affected by a virus. Many believed the viruses had been unwittingly introduced by the crew themselves. Seafarers are not routinely trained in cyber security 88% in the same survey claimed they were not aware of how to manage cyber issues onboard.

Seafarers are in a difficult position; they can cause problems, but are unable to spot them. A major problem is the use of USB ports for charging mobile phones. According to one report, a seafarer recently plugged his smart phone into the ECDIS to charge it and as the phone began to update itself it wiped the entire chart folio! The dangers are real – and need to be addressed.

To read the guidance to seafarers on a simple “Cyber Sense” routine visit their online post at:https://www.shipownersclub.com/cyber-guidance-for-crews/

JIM SAYS...

LEADINGEDGE

2016, a year of upheaval, a year of change, like something mediaeval it’s ending deranged. It started quite well, with the best of intent, but soon lost the plot and ended up bent.

When the Zika virus arrived, it started to thrive, Iran gave up its nukes, well, according to spooks; North Korea set off fireworks just for fun in an effort to please, Dear Kim Jong Un. David Bowie and Alan Rickman ascended into space with artistic style and dramatic grace. Terry Wogan bid his TOGs goodbye with a nod, a smile and a tear in his eye.

ISIL bombed Brussels with 32 dead and in Lahore religion killed 75 more! With their stories of creation hellbent on desecration the righteous are focused on annihilation

UN’s Boutros Boutros-Ghali sadly departed without a parley, because he was very, very nice and so good they named him twice! Nancy Reagan left it late to follow Ronnie into fate and George Martin departed Abbey Road after a Hard Day’s Night creating music that was “out of sight”. Johan Cruyff and Garry Shandling each did their final turn leaving behind adoring fans and fame to burn.

Spring sweetened the year with the bees making honey and the Panama papers showed what happens to money as hundreds of thousands of the great and the good dodged taxes and scrutiny as only they could. In May, an EgyptAir flight fell from the sky and Hissène Habré said goodbye, locked up for his crimes against humanity, the ex-president of Chad, King of Vanity

June brought us the Gotthard Base Tunnel penetrating 35 miles through mountain, expanding Europe through integration. While in John Bull’s land, in the opposite direction, the Islanders moved into introspection. A binary question, a banal debate, a war of propaganda and a gamble with fate. A referendum on something so vague and opaque, democracy-light, a strategic mistake! The cost and the consequence not on the agenda, parliamentary homeopathy and foolish referenda?

More ISIL in Turkey with 45 dead, now sunseekers will go to Cyprus instead! No more will Mohammed Ali sting like a bee as he shuffled-off this mortal coil into boxing eternity.

Juno visits Jupiter to expand humanity’s reach while China expansion is the Philippines breach. The videocassette reached the end of its line and the Earth was circumnavigated by a solar powered plane. July had arrived incognito and left with a smile, just in case you forgot, it did it with style!

In August Brazil, just to prove us all wrong welcomed the world and burst into song and ignoring the scandal without naming names changed its President and opened the Games. Another chapter in the Olympiad, a sort of a drug fest tween the good and the bad.

In September, North Korea launched its largest nuclear test and was accused of “maniacal recklessness”. Global CO2 levels were the highest in history making the future a sci-fi mystery. While NASA launched a

Propeller Club Liverpool President Jim Bellew has been taking a look back to the events of 2016 as we welcome a new year. It has been a time of upheaval, but can 2017 be any better...and perhaps less lethal.

In his own words and style Jim says...HELLO 2017:

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

JIM SAYS...

PROPELLERCLUB

probe to bring samples back by 2023, I hope there’s someone here, as well as thee and me!

In October, the Maldives left the Commonwealth because it thought it ought’r as it struggled to keep its head above water. Pete Burns and Bobby Vee took their final curtain call as Donald Trump promised the Mexicans he’d make them build a wall.

So what can you say about November other than fireworks and being burnt to a cinder. Well, goodbye Hilary, hello Donald, without too much introspection, another duck-up in the American election. A decision, from an electorate with its finger on the pulse, of popular opinion, on the trigger, of an automatic weapon, to put Trump’s finger, on the nuclear button. An example to Russia and China of how to purge dogma with a democratic enema. The bad news, they have more guns than folk, the good news 64% don’t have passports, and that’s no joke!

What becomes of the late departed that left us all broken-hearted? Carol Ahern left for certain and took with her Mrs Merton. Andrew Sachs, as I can tell, also left with Manuel. And Jean Alexander, oh so sweet, with Hilda sadly left the Street. Another Scouser Carla Lane regretfully did the same, now the Liver Birds won’t fly again! Tonsorial artist extraordinaire, Herbert, will cut no more hair. The panto dame and our favourite Queen has left the stage no more to be seen. And what of Prince, or is it Purple who left his fans feeling doleful?

For the second-time John Glenn has left this earth and Ronnie Corbett will deliver no more mirth. Kay Starr will twinkle no more as her Wheel of Fortune came to rest, Arnold Palmer is in the 19th hole just to prove that he’s the best. Merle Haggard has left Muskogee and Paul Daniels will do no more jiggery-pokery. The patron saint of dinner ladies has left for good, so endeth the lesson of Victoria Wood. And Frank Sinatra Jr despite the name, never achieved his father’s fame, a burden too great, a journey to far, how do you follow the brightest star?

Leonard Cohen left his maudlin crowd and has now ascended above his black cloud. Robert Vaughn, George Kennedy and Gene Wilder can now indulge in celestial banter while David Guest can orchestrate a talent show of the good and the great. And Zsa Zsa Gabor made heaven wait for 99 years to get to the gate.

And on a level more profound a leader who managed to stay around. 638 assassination attempts by the CIA failed to send Castro on his way. Fidel finally passed away in his sleep leaving millions of Cubans to mourn and weep. While across the water in Biscayne Bay, a different narrative is underway, the right is right and the left is wrong; changing the lyrics, rewriting the song? Back to the future, a return to the past? Armageddon or nirvana is here at last!

The cards have been shuffled, the goalposts moved, we’ve gone back to vinyl (like CDs with grooves). The rules have been changed, we know NOT what they are, start saving your pennies for your driverless car. The crowd will look different, being mainly white, as the carers and sharers all take flight. The old and the older won’t suffer from constipation once they raise the age of military conscription. Dad’s Army awaits to defend our shores from the migrants that want what’s mine and yours. Can you remember what it was because there’s not much left, austerity and privatisation has left us bereft. A clapped-out train set? Oh no! That’s not ours! With the other national assets and “parliamentary powers” it’s all been disposed-of to the lowest bidder, the offshore fund manager and political kidder. It’s now “Post-truth”, which by-the-by is a devious way of describing a lie!

When we thought there were no more to grieve, George Michael sadly took his leave, his edgy lyrics and dulcet timbre touched the hearts of saint and sinner.

In Russia, with no one to tell us why, a plane full of music fell from the sky. Debby Reynolds came out of the rain to where she will feel no more pain, to be with daughter Carrie Fisher who left behind the glitz and glitter. Mother and daughter together at last with an eternal future to salve a troubled past.

If poetry isn’t supposed to rhyme, then this must really be absurd; text delivered out of time, that jar and tear with every word. But that my friends represent the year, an excess of tears, a deluge of fears; too many statements designed to rile, less inclined to raise a smile; A vintage year for grief and pain, diminished communities; personal gain; a year of bitterness and public discord with little for the common man to applaud.I’m now going off to commit suicide – or have a pint!So, here’s to 2017, a brave new world; it may not be bright but it certainly Orange! Enjoy!

The Propeller Club Liverpool is your readymade

maritime network in the region. We welcome all

who work in shipping, or who have a passion for

promoting it.

Membership links you to am amazing group of

professionals - not just in Liverpool, but the world

over. So join us today - it costs just £45 per year, and

you will help us to deliver even more for the maritime

community locally.

Enjoy our First Thursday evenings, golf days, tall ship

visits and lunches. There is so much going on, and we

want you to be part of it.

http://propellerclub.co.uk/joining/

COME AND JOIN USTODAY...

Dick Welsh, Director, Isle of Man Ship Registry has been pondering that question of "what if we did it differently". He has been asking what ships might look like if architects, rather than naval architects, to design the living accommodation.

"Looking at the latest container behemoth, I can’t help wondering what life is like for the twenty or so individuals who live and work in the narrow steel box beneath the wheelhouse, squeezed between stacks of containers. I expect that those who are not ‘in the know’ would imagine that no one lives on this vessel. It looks like a drone ship.

When I first went to sea, I had a forward facing cabin on the main deck, albeit obscured by a derrick and a winch belching steam when working. As I rose through the ranks so did the deck I lived on, and the view from the cabin improved incrementally. The container ship world pretty much killed this and as the ships get larger and carry more, the accommodation looks ever more pitiful.

We are asking our seafarers to join a vessel, where they will make it their home for six to nine months in many cases. They will live and work on board as a small community. Are we as an industry really committed to making that experience the best it can be?

This is not a rant at the container ship sector. We build super yachts and passenger ships with the most fantastic accommodation for guests and passengers; whilst the art of design is to squeeze the accommodation for crew into the smallest space possible. Other ship types all play the same game; maximise fee earning space and minimise crew numbers and accommodation within reason.

We do of course have regulations governing crew accommodation. The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC), provides an international standard which governs such things as natural light, cabin and bunk sizes, access to toilet facilities etc. Ships are inspected and certificated to ensure compliance, but does this really enhance the life of the seafarer? I would argue that it prevents further erosion of their standards of accommodation and recreation facilities at a global level. Which is a good thing.

I am not pointing any fingers here. Ship design has evolved and the industry faces many difficult challenges, which have been overcome in part by reducing crew numbers and maximising cargo space. We also have owners who design and build ships which they operate from cradle to grave and who go the extra mile in terms of accommodation for their staff.

I do wonder however what the living accommodation might look like if the people who live on board had an input into its design? If money were no object and they had a free hand. If Lord Norman Foster (architect of London’s famous Gherkin building) were to put his pencil to it.

At the very least we could expect natural light and a room with a view of some of the world’s most spectacular oceans and coastal landscapes. As well as a very odd-looking ship..… or……is it time drone ships?"

At Propeller Club Liverpool we like to encourage discussion on maritime matters - so we are setting you a challenge...what would you like to see done differently in the shipping industry and how?

What changes would you think could make a real difference and drive positives of whatever kind? Let us know...and share your vision for the future.

WHAT IF WE DID IT DIFFERENTLY

PROPELLERCLUB

WHAT IF WE DID IT DIFFERENTLY?

NEW WORLD ORDER

LEADINGEDGE

Propeller Club Liverpool is all about promoting positive debate in shipping, and is dedicated to bringing leading speakers and maritime thinkers to our fair city. At our Trafalgar Day lunch we introduced members and guests to a futurist who is at the cutting edge of new thinking on how shipping with thrive into the future. Welcome to the new world order, and the seaconomics of KD Adamson.

NEW WORLD ORDERWELCOME TO ADAMSONIAN SEACONOMICS...

Kate Adamson is passionate about the pace, speed and growth. The exponential rate of change is her dojo and she is not afraid to tackle anyone who dares to question just how far and how fast shipping will have to change to stay relevant.

From her stance as a futurist, the question we need to be asking about the future isn’t, “what’s going to change?” It’s “what isn’t going to change?” We are living in an unprecedented time, a time where a range of global megatrends are colliding headlong with breakthrough technologies experiencing exponential growth.

The combinatorial effect of these, together with new generational mindsets, is accelerating change and creating disruption on a previously unthinkable scale. From abundant energy to synthetic biology, nanotechnology, robotics and the infinite extension of human life, the world is likely to change more in the coming decades than it has done for centuries.

The impact on human lives and experiences – health, education, work, security, finance, government, defence, communities, ethics, belief systems and ideologies – will be immense. Yet most people have yet to grasp the enormity of the change coming their way - but they are going to have to, if they want to succeed.

According to Kate, people feel that the pace of change is accelerating and they’re right, things are changing at an exponential rate. The Chinese curse of “living in interesting times” is seemingly alive and well today, and we are in it.

To further complicate matters Kate believes the collision of “generational cohorts” is set to have a massive effect on the industry. People are moving into key positions with profoundly different attitudes than those which have gone before.

Key to all this, according to the Adamsonian view is understanding the difference between the linear growth we’re used to and the exponential growth we’re experiencing. This means, we can no longer use the past to predict the future. The past was a 30 mile an hour zone – everything was constraint by the limits of information sharing or data management and by the ability of people to act…that is no longer the case.

Now we are literally at light speed – the rate of change is, that word again, “exponential”. An exponential rate of increase becomes quicker and quicker as the thing that increases becomes larger. It means that the world is likely to change more in the next 50 years than in the last few hundred.

PROPELLER CLUB LUNCH

PROPELLERCLUB

This is going to have massive implications for businesses and shipping’s problem is that it’s still using the past to predict the future. The assumption that if we just sit tight the upturn will come is a dangerous mistake. There is a new ‘seaconomics’ we have to accept.

The historic link between global GDP growth and shipping volumes has decoupled, we have a demographic time bomb delivering an ageing population which buys services rather than goods and a younger generation which is the first in memory to be poorer than its parents. On top of that technological impacts for example of 3D printing and the dawn of Industry 4.0 means that methods, volumes and locations of manufacturing will alter markedly.

There is a new landscape for business which is turning traditional vertical markets into far broader arenas, as evidenced by the activities of digital companies like Amazon, Uber, Facebook and Google. Connectivity and mobility are merging and shipping could face very different competitors very soon.

It is not all doom and gloom – and while it is obvious that the old heads of shipping may still like to think that the lessons learned in the past can inform the present and shape the future, it means that we are in a time of rapid change and evolution.

Those who accept and learn to harness technologies which are currently disrupting but which can be used to our advantage will win out.

Cyborg shipping companies – those who use intelligent transportation systems are an integral part of industry 4.0 these are the future. Having the vision to see what is actually happening, not being trapped by what you think will or should happen – that seems to be the key to the Adamsonian world.

The ultimate delivery system in this new approach is autonomous vessels. These are seemingly key to the new, intelligent transport system of the future. The problem today is that trying to evaluate the role of autonomous ships in terms of today’s business models is missing the point. In fact it just confuses the debate – like discussing remote controls before TV sets were invented…it would look like

a useless box, until that eureka moment when the planets and technology align.

More than different vessels and hyperconnectivity, what shipping needs a digital vision for the industry and for each and every company too. More even that that, what is really needed is some form of audacious goal. Something transformative and defining that will attract the right talent and investment that we desperately need.

These are the choppy waters where shipping needs to play. It is unsettling and like a confused swell it can overcome those who are not riding the right waves at the right time. Shipping has an incredibly complex balancing act to perform – it needs to ensure that it has the ships it needs, which of course means building or buying, but only when the clients need them. To shift from the old certainties of the cyclical industry to this Amazon “floating warehousing” world is a tough concept – but it certainly seems that Kate in on the money.

Change is coming, and it is coming faster and faster every day. Kate believes we need to become a “Blue Logistics channel”, integrating seamlessly with customers and suppliers and adding real value, as opposed to only focusing on reducing cost.

As with any challenge, Kate believes that the start of this journey is with a question. So what are we asking? We need to ask what value will business bring when the power of computing doubles, quadruples, or grows by a factor of eight? Because that’s what we’re facing inside the next decade. Are we smart enough for a future which asks such questions, when we don’t even know what the answer should or can look like?

That is the challenge in the board rooms of today, to be ready for tomorrow…the gauntlet has been thrown down, the duel is on and shipping must deliver satisfaction in order to survive.

The Propeller Club Liverpool wishes to thank Kate Adamson for speaking at the lunch, and for sharing her incredible insight into the changes facing shipping. You can learn more of her work at www.futurenautics.com

"...Most people have yet to grasp the enormity of the change coming their way" KD Adamson

MERSEYPARADISE

LEADINGEDGE

IN OUR MERSEY PARADISE

Liverpool 2 finally Opens

Liverpool2, Peel Port’s new £400m deepwater container terminal at the Port of Liverpool officially opened in November. The new facility complements the existing Royal Seaforth Container Terminal at the port, giving Peel the capacity for the first time to handle up to 95% of the world’s largest vessels. Liverpool’s current 8% share of the UK container market is expected to rise to between 15 and 20%.

The Stone Roses got one thing right about the Mersey, the river does indeed splash against the rocks - even our jury is out on the "paradise" bit...but you would be surprised by some recent visitors to the "Pool of Life"...

massive cruise call boost

Liverpool Cruise Terminal helped to generate an economic impact of circa £7m during the summer season after welcoming more than 100,000 passengers in 2016. There were 63 cruise liners visits, bringing almost 115,000 passengers and crew to Liverpool. Plans to build a permanent cruise liner building are currently being drawn up for consideration.

celebrating MAST success

Charitable organisation Merseyside Adventure Sail Training (MAST) celebrated 50 years of Sail Training recently with a 2-day event. The anniversary celebration recognised how Sail Training has helped more than 10,000 people of all ages and backgrounds – including disabled and disadvantaged people - to develop life skills through the unique experience of crewing a Tall Ship.

Hill dickinson key roles

Hill Dickinson has appointed its first chief executive as part of a series of changes to its management structure that includes creating the role of chairman. Managing partner Peter Jackson has taken up the position of CEO, with long-time senior partner David Wareing becoming chairman. The changes are part of a strategy to improve the "agility and efficiency of the business, making it more responsive to client needs".

We would love to have any photos or thoughts of events you have seen or attended locally. We are proud to live and work in such a vibrant maritime community and look forward to featuring some of the goings on here.

Energising cammell laird

CAMMELL Laird's new managing director has unveiled his plans for the firm's expansion into the energy sector.Jonathan Brown joins the Birkenhead shipyard's energy division from Rolls Royce, where he led its nuclear new build and projects group. He is tasked with expanding Laird's drive to grow across nuclear, renewables and the oil and gas markets.

PROPELLERCLUB

KVH Industries, Inc. has announced that Mark Woodhead has been named to the newly created position of KVH “senior vice president for training and content”, effective on the first of January 2017.

In this position, Mr. Woodhead will direct KVH’s market-leading maritime crew welfare, safety, and productivity services, which include Videotel maritime training packages – currently in use on more than 12,000 vessels worldwide – and numerous news and entertainment brands, such as NEWSlink – currently used by more than 9,000 vessels globally.

Mr. Woodhead has been managing director of KVH’s news and entertainment brands since 2013 and will succeed Nigel Cleave, following the planned decision by Videotel’s CEO to retire at the end of the year. Mr. Woodhead’s new position will bring KVH’s maritime training, news, and entertainment under one umbrella for the first time.

“Mark has nearly 20 years’ experience providing commercially licensed, industry-leading content to the commercial maritime, retail, and hospitality sectors, and we are thrilled to have him direct our comprehensive efforts to provide top quality maritime training programmes and tremendously popular news and entertainment services as part of a total KVH solution,” says Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH’s CEO.

Mr. Woodhead’s background is in content acquisition and production; he has been in the shipping sector since 2000, when he was commercial director of TEAMtalk Media Group,and he launched Headland Media in 2006. He led a rollup of shipping service businesses, including brands such as NEWSlink, Walport, and Shipboard Video Express. He is passionate about improving the visibility and welfare of crew and using cutting-edge technology to deliver home comforts and training to crew in remote locations.

“The shipping industry is in an unprecedented period of change. As technological advances continue to offer better communications options, KVH is committed to providing competitive solutions for our maritime clients, and making the transition as smooth and seamless as possible,” says Mr. Woodhead.

“Nigel has presided over a very successful period of growth at Videotel, and everyone at KVH would like to thank him for his huge contribution to the industry and wish him all the best in his well-earned retirement. I am very excited to be adding Videotel to my responsibilities, and to be working with the experienced and passionate team there to continue to improve the safety and welfare of seafarers around the world.

Nigel Cleave’s career began with Cunard as a navigating cadet officer and he went

on to hold senior positions within the ship management sector, including building one business up from zero to a diverse fleet of 135 fully managed vessels. His broad ship management experience made him aware of the importance of having properly trained crew, and helped influence his decision to join Videotel as CEO in 2011.

KVH’s acquisition of Videotel in July 2014 opened the way to solving a challenge Mr. Cleave had long recognised, namely how to deliver training packages to global fleets more efficiently. With KVH’s IP-MobileCast™ content delivery service, Videotel’s training materials can be sent via multicasting technology, ensuring vessels’ Internet performance isn’t affected and eliminating the cost of distribution. With IP-MobileCast, one transmission sends files to all subscribing vessels, caching the files to an onboard server for immediate access by crew.

“I am fortunate to have been able to work in such a vibrant and rewarding industry as shipping,” says Mr. Cleave. “All my colleagues and associates in our industry will agree that the maritime sector is not merely a job, but very definitely a way of life. I am leaving Videotel with some truly exciting developments in the pipeline and I congratulate Mark on his new position. I am in no doubt that Videotel customers, today and in the future, will be in good and capable hands.” www.videotel.com www.kvh.com

Our Corporate Suppor ters KVH Industr ies and V ideote l have been in the news - as Mark Woodhead s teps the he lm and Nige l C leave heads for ret i rement .

Nige l i s a va lued f r iend and suppor ter o f the Prope l ler Club, and we wish h im wel l . We a l so know Videote l w i l l go f rom strength to s trength . Good luck . . .

PASSINGTHE BATON

PLOTTING A COURSE: MARITIME HERITAGE

LEADINGEDGE

As Liverpool's old docks are seemingly being shorn of classic ships and filled with narrow boats and pedals swans there is a struggle to ensure that history plays a role in the city.

It wasn't just the historic docks, Albert, Canning et al - the debate looked at the new developments which will form Liverpool waters. Is there enough being done to maintain as much soul and vibrancy on the water as the quayside? The answer seems to be a resounding no...

Away from the Three Graces and Liverpool’s other astonishing maritime history, there is a battle developing. One which pits the need for development of the old docklands against UNESCO World Heritage Site status, and against the needs of people, place and space.

With a boom in new development, there is a danger that the old docks, while keeping the water, could lose their soul. There is a need for balance, a need for answers and of debate on heritage, culture and the ways in which the new can sit alongside the old.

One of the ways in which this can be done is by harnessing a resource which these new developments are rich in: water. The obsolete docks need regeneration – but the current focus is on the land and quays alone, the water filled basins are in danger of being left empty and useless.

There is a real fear that whatever buildings are thrown up, that the docks themselves will be sterile, empty and lacking in purpose. On 7 December, RSA Fellows and Athenaeum

Proprietors came together to talk about the problems, while seeking solutions too. The well-attended meeting heard concerns aired, but also some new ideas and innovations. A diverse mix of people discussed the plight of the docks, the patterns of development and the woeful ways in which Liverpool appears to be dealing with historic and heritage vessels.

Attendees heard about maritime heritage, but also the need to retain culture, to shape the places that can bring so much to a new Liverpool, without being detrimental to the old. The talk focused on the RSA’s Heritage Index, and of the need to ensure that heritage is part of the conversation when planners and developers gather. It was also about the models of dock growth and port development.

Almost all port cities have developed along similar lines – a city rises as the ships come alongside a river or natural harbour. This is the classic “Anyport” model – and Liverpool is a typical illustration of this. However, as the port and ships grow they move downstream and a vacuum is left behind, often in the very heart of the city.

So what can we do? The talk stressed the fact that Liverpool can be a beacon of excellence for maritime history heritage. A city which can be the place that old, classic and heritage ships thrive again, not rot, rust and die.

Locally there are the people, skills, knowledge and passion which can become a template around the world for saving and then celebrating historic and classic ships. It is one thing to save buildings, views and stories of

our past – but empty historic docks are both a wasted opportunity and a waste of real estate. Just because water may make it complicated, it does not have to make it impossible.

Jones asked the audience to imagine a Liverpool which is alive along both wall and water; a city with shimmering lights, beautiful ships, the sights and sounds of a new age of docks; docks which reconnect with the soul and spaces in a city. That is what this city needs, as the end of an era for a dock doesn’t have to turn into an error for the city. We can do the right thing and bring life back to the old docks. Obsolete does not have to mean devoid of opportunity.

The RSA North and Athenaeum event settled on a number of key questions. Does it matter whether there are ships in these old docks? Is Liverpool missing out on boosting visitor numbers and their satisfaction? Will addressing this issue lead to our city making inroads in the RSA Heritage Index once more? Will UNESCO World Heritage Site status be safeguarded by a new approach to the docks?

There are other questions too: would making Liverpool a sanctuary for historic and heritage vessels deliver for the community? Would it allow us to create jobs, transfer skills and create a positive cycle for many people locally? While the answers may seem obvious, they need actions to translate the past into a positive future.

While the answers may seem obvious, they need actions to translate the past into a positive future.

Our Vice President Steven Jones spoke at the first Athenaeum and Royal Society of the Arts meeting held in Liverpool

on the need to understand, to protect and safeguard our maritime history and the challenges of heritage.

SAVING OUR MARITIME HERITAGE

MEMBER NEWS

PROPELLERCLUB

fort on the job...Fort Recruitment is reporting a fast-growing list of maritime supply chain clients after starting up from scratch in the city less than two years ago.

The company, run by managing director Ian Buckley (pictured), has recently recruited three highly specialised staff on behalf of marine consultancy and marine surveying company Brookes Bell Group. Nick Chapman and Luigi Petrone, consulting scientists, have now moved to the London and Hong Kong offices of Brookes Bell after a short training spell in Liverpool, and Keith Ritchie, a fire investigator, is based in the Liverpool office.

Colin Kershaw, managing partner of Brookes Bell, said he was hugely impressed with the service provided by Fort, saying: “Fort Recruitment understand our business and our personnel requirements. They have been of great help in finding candidates of the highest calibre in line with the specific areas of expertise we need to build the constantly evolving services of the Brookes Bell Group.” www.fortrecruitment.co.uk

Harris Pye on the horizonThe Harris Pye Group has successfully completed refurbishment and rebranding of two key areas on the Stena Horizon – separate catering facilities for travel and freight passengers,

The new Metropolitan Grill Restaurant and Freight Truckers lounge which were both unveiled to passengers on the 6th December sailing from Rosslare to Cherbourg . The new facilities have brought the vessel more in line with the offering of the rest of Stena’s Irish Sea fleet. www.harrispye.com

Virtually Brilliant...Our good friends at KVH and Videotel were in Manila late last year to attend the Crew Connect conference. Anneley and Rob Parkin joined in the fun along with many others from the London office.

Amongst the serious business of enhancing life at sea for seafarers and providing for the industry's training needs, their amazing stand at the event featured an amazing Virtual Reality feature - the crowds came flocking to take part in a lifelike VR simulation of performing maintenance on a pump.

There was much hilarity as those who attempted it made all kinds of mistakes, just like real engineers. The lesson was clear though, VR is a major part of the future of training. www.videotel.com

MEMBER NEWS

PROPELLERCLUB

Adam Whittle, Claims Adjuster at Propeller Club Liverpool founder members, Brookes Bell, reflects on some of the highlights of the superyacht world in the year just gone.

2016 was another impressive year for the superyacht industry. Headlines include the acquisition of Blohm & Voss by Lurssen Yachts, the delivery of ‘Dilbar’, the largest superyacht in the world in terms of volume, Heesen breaking the mould with the ‘Galactica Super Nova’; one of the fastest superyachts in the world, and the construction of the world’s largest sailing yacht, the aptly named, ‘Sailing Yacht A’.

Industry figures reported that last year, a total of 755 yachts 24m or longer were either under construction or completed, but with yards having to sign non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements, that figure will be higher. While the Arab states and Russian billionaires may be stealing the headlines with the very big stuff, the bulk of new orders was for yachts between 90 – 150 feet; a 9% increase over last year.

2016 was also a year of firsts. The 107m superyacht ‘Ulysses’, said to have been commissioned by New Zealand businessman Graeme Hart, is the first private superyacht build undertaken by Norwegian yard, Kleven. This yacht is designed for long-range passages in the most testing of sea conditions and has oceangoing capabilities fitting of Kleven’s heritage.

Ice-classed with a range of 8,500 nautical miles, ‘Ulysses’ has unrivalled sea-going capabilities as well as an extensive array of tenders and toys, including a 21-metre catamaran capable of 50 knots.

6 months on from our initial expansion into the superyacht market, the Brookes Bell Yacht Practice continues to grow and diversify. Our experts have been retained to investigate issues on several of the world’s largest superyachts including new build disputes, naval architecture consultancy, marine engineering expert witness work and project management. Brookes Bell’s multi-disciplined, in-house skill set cements our reputation as the “go-to” firm for the superyacht industry.

With our wealth of practical experience and cutting edge in-house technology, we look forward to further growing the Yacht Practice in 2017.

REFLECTING THE GLORY OF SUPERYACHTS

"Sailing Yacht A"; Photo courtesy of KarleHorn & Waldi

"Ulysses"; Photo courtesy of Claus Schafe / TheYachtPhoto.com

Adam Whittle of Brookes Bell

WHATSON

LEADING EDGE

ITS 2017...USE YOURSHARED CALENDAR

Since the launch of Propeller Club Liverpool we have looked to play a unique and useful role in the local maritime community – this has seen us work with other groups to promote events, attend functions, and make sure we all know what each other is up to.

In discussions with other maritime groups it became apparent that a shared “Shipping calendar” would be useful – so we have developed one… http://propellerclub.co.uk/calendar/

Thank you to the Nautical Institute, IMarEST and the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers for helping us get the ball rolling. One of the issues locally had been the lack of a centralised events hub, and we hope this is a first step towards that goal.

This is just a start, and we will be adding more events – so please do tell us if you are involved or hosting something you would like to see listed. We very much hope you find it useful, and that you will inundate us with more information, and the events of any other groups you would like to see involved.

The system we have used is called "Teamup" – and this will allow you to sync with iOS devices into iCalendar, and there is also an Android app – as well as on your desktop. It will also be embedded on our website – and if you would like to have it on your own site we can provide the technical details to you – just ask.

If you have any questions, comments or would like to help in populating the calendar, just drop us a line. Email propellerclubliverpool@gmail.com

Use it, and tell others about it - it is a great tool for our local maritime community!

Thank you to all who have contributed their support, and more importantly their events...this is growing, and is the place to find out what is happening in the maritime community.

So visit the website, download the App or integrate it with your own calendar on your smart phone or tablet.

PROPELLER REVOLUTION

LEADINGEDGE

Thanks to a sponsorship deal between Brookes Bell and the local magazine My Planet Liverpool, Propeller Club was offered the opportunity to talk about our work, our vision for the future and the involvement we have with the maritime community. Here we share the thoughts that have been read by thousands of people locally - hopefully you will feel pride in being a part of something which is promoting and talking of our industry and engaging with the local public...telling once more the tales of the modern sea. Liverpool is a “shipping city”, you can tell by just looking up. Almost every historic building has its nod to far off places, to cargoes which built us and to the brave seafarers who brought them. Guidebooks may wax lyrical on the past, but what of today?

It comes as a surprise to those who don't work in our industry to find out that Liverpool is as important a maritime centre today as it has been for decades. Investment in new port infrastructure, a busy river awash with cruise ships, seafarers arriving into the city, and even new ships being built, all hint at a renaissance.

Something to celebrate to be sure. However, to cement a position as a maritime powerhouse takes more than just investment and innovation alone. Real longevity and stature comes with having the right people, and that is what the Propeller Club Liverpool is all about.

The Propeller Club Liverpool is a professional network focused on promoting the industry and bringing maritime people together.

We exist to network, to mentor, to develop business – and we try to enjoy it too.

The International Propeller Club of the United States, to give the full title, can trace its origins back to New York in 1922. In the clubs off Park Avenue, mariners who had moved ashore wanted to meet and be able to discuss maritime matters.

Soon the idea began to grow, and all over America and in many cities overseas the Propeller Clubs took root. In the UK, London had been the only chapter – and had been in existence since 1936. It wasn’t until 2014 when Liverpool took up the mantle, did the Propeller Club begin to spread in this country.

A number of likeminded maritime people had already started meeting in the city. As far back as 2010 – every First Thursday they would convene, network and enjoy each other’s company. Soon it became obvious that there was potential to do more – and so Propeller Club Liverpool was born.

In April 2014, we were formally recognised and received our Charter from the United States. We were official, and the journey to grow both in size and influence began. We now have around 120 individual members, supported by 10 amazing companies who act as our corporate members. The investment from both groups allows us to engage with the wider industry and to host extremely popular events.

Shipping is the most international of industries – and so maritime professionals are in demand all over the world. It can be difficult

PROPELLER REVOLUTIONTELLING LIVERPOOL ABOUT OUR CLUB...

PROPELLER REVOLUTION

PROPELLERCLUB

for cities such as Liverpool to maintain its talent pool, and to keep good people.

The world’s biggest maritime centres are caught in a constant struggle for position and pre-eminence. London, often hoovers up plaudits and talent alike, as Singapore and Dubai proclaim their incredible credentials and potential. Elsewhere cities such as Hamburg, Hong Kong and New York all harbour ambitions to be number one, so there is a struggle to find and attract the best people.

That is the modern world of shipping – the biggest cities draw in people like moths to a maritime flame. Liverpool has to fight to keep its head about the rising tide. That is why we are so pleased to be part of promoting our wonderful city and region.

There is immense pride and satisfaction that the city of Liverpool and local area is beginning to buzz once more, and shipping is once more its beating heart. At the mouth of the river, vast investment and development have seen the new “Liverpool Two” container terminal take shape. The docks are awash with activity, there are increased shipping movements, and there are innovative shipping companies leading the world, all based locally.

Cruise Lines too are now embracing Liverpool. The cruise terminal has brought some of the most iconic ships into the city, and who can have missed the spectacle of three Cunard Queens dancing in the river. The city keeps winning awards, and visitor numbers are set to rise further next year.

Over the river sits Cammell Laird, the historic shipyard is tackling an incredible new building project, as “Boaty McAttenborough” the most advanced polar research vessel the world has ever seen takes shape. This is a coup for the country, let alone our region.

There are many companies doing great things, but it is the people who really make it all happen. The maritime professionals, with expertise, qualifications, skills, contacts, ideas and drive to create, deliver and improve. They make the difference, separating a city from being just office space, and making it a community.

It’s not just the Propeller Club – there are vibrant branches of other organisations too, and we are all collaborating, sharing an events calendar, and working to make Liverpool City Region even greater than the sum of its shipping parts. We have embraced the arts and culture too – as we look to bring maritime and nautical issues back to the public consciousness.

Liverpool is growing and it’s time has come around again. In this most maritime of cities you can find a real sense of a shipping community, with vibrancy, passion and sense of belonging.

THE THINGS PEOPLE DO

LEADING EDGE

Propeller Club Liverpool has been proudly supporting the "Expressive Art on the Mersey " project. Which has seen Claire McCarthy (pictured) braving the elements to capture, in watercolours and oils, the sheer beauty of our city and river from the Mersey Ferries.

A print of one of Claire's works was auctioned at our last lunch to raise funds for Seafarers UK - and was won by the most generous Mike Williams, MD of MIRIS International - below receiving his picture from the artist herself.

An exhibition of the work is set to take place in the wonderful setting of the Williamson Gallery in Birkenhead in April 2017. You can find out more details at http://williamsonartgallery.org/ Or you may even bump into Claire at upcoming First Thursdays networking events.

ART IS SET TO DAZZLE IN WILLIAMSONGALLERY

In 2017 Seafarers UK mark its 100th year and in recognition of this landmark is holding a special Centenary Celebration dinner in Liverpool.

While the dinner will be an amazing, glittering event, it is not just about having fun. Seafarers UK aims to highlight the debt of gratitude we all owe the generations of seafarers by reflecting upon the sacrifices of the past and by supporting those still serving as well as those training to be our seafarers of the future.

The ‘Liverpool Centenary Celebration Dinner’ will take place on 23 February 2017 at the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

The evening will involve a drinks reception, a three course dinner, music by the Band of her Majesty’s Royal Marines Scotland, an auction and an after dinner speech by Lord Prescott

(previously Deputy Prime Minister and a merchant navy seaman).

All funds raised on the night will be in support of the new accommodation and care wing being built at Mariners’ Park in Wallasey – a Seafarers UK Centenary project.

You can find out more at the Seafarers UK website and can book tickets and tables there. http://www.seafarers.uk/event/liverpool-centenary-celebration-dinner/

Our very own Linda Cotton has been charged with making the event a success - so we are sure it is in good hands.

As part of our sponsorship and support for the event Propeller Club Liverpool has a table - and members can apply for subsidised ticket prices, one per member - email propellerclubliverpool@gmail.com for info.

Propeller Club Liverpool is proud to be a sponsor of the upcoming Seafarers UK centenary dinner being held in Liverpool. The 23 February event is set to be a sell-out.

SEAFARERS UK: CENTENARY DINNER IN LIVERPOOL

The International Propeller Club of the United States - Liverpool & North West

A global business network dedicated to the promotion of the maritime industry, comerce and global trade.

www.propellerclub.co.uk

@propellerists

OFFICERS

President: Jim BellewPort Secretary: Sue HenneyVice President: Steven JonesVice President: Paul GeorgesonTreasurer: Anneley Pickles

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Bill Carter, InXpressTerry Ogg, OGG ExpertAdam Whittle, Brookes BellAndrew Barlow, IndependentDavid Corkish, Colossal TrainingColin Kershaw, Brookes BellChris Farrell, Port2PortLinda Cotton, IndependentHolly Savage, KVH Media Group

LEADING EDGE PRODUCTION

Content, Editor, Design: Steven Jones

CORRESPONDENCE

Correspondence Address:C/O KVH Media GroupOne Derby Square,Liverpool, L2 9XXUnited KIngdom

Email:propellerclubliverpool@gmail.com

PROPELLER CLUB LIVERPOOL IS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY: